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Arrest The Exodus In Gujarat

(The editorial is based on the article “Arrest the exodus in Gujarat” which appeared in The Hindu on 10th October 2018. It analyses the...

24 Oct 2018 News Editorials
NASA Named New Constellations

NASA has named 21 set of new Gamma Ray Constellations. NASA has named them after fictional characters like Doctor who, Hulk,...

23 Oct 2018 News Analysis
Insolvency Law Committee Report

The ILC has submitted its 2nd Report to the Government, which deals with cross-border insolvency. The Insolvency Law Committee (ILC) was...

23 Oct 2018 News Analysis
India’s Failure To Address Its Urban Slum Problem

(The editorial is based on the article “India’s failure to address its urban slum problem” which appeared in Livemint on 23rd...

23 Oct 2018 News Editorials
Harit Diwali Swasth Diwali campaign

The air pollution in the northern region is attributed to dust, burning of crops in certain states, burning of garbage construction and prevailing...

23 Oct 2018 News Analysis
Tiger Attacks

Recently a tigress shifted to Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR) claimed another human life. The tigress was brought from Bandhavgarh Tiger...

22 Oct 2018 News Analysis
Important Facts for Prelims (22nd October 2018)

BEPICOLOMBO: Mission to Mercury The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) sent two probes on a joint...

22 Oct 2018 News Analysis
An Innovative Method For Boosting Nutrition

(The editorial is based on the article “An innovative method for boosting nutrition” which appeared in Livemint on 22nd October 2018....

22 Oct 2018 News Editorials
The Petroglyphs of Ratnagiri

Different sites with petroglyphs in Ratnagiri and Rajapur districts have been found over the last two or three years. The way the petroglyphs have...

20 Oct 2018 News Analysis
The Anatomy Of Banking Frauds

(The editorial is based on the article “The anatomy of banking frauds” which appeared in Livemint on 19th October 2018. It analyses the...

20 Oct 2018 News Editorials
IARI Breeds Nutrient-Rich Hybrid Maize

Recently Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) scientists have bred world’s first quality protein and pro-vitamin A-rich bio-fortified...

18 Oct 2018 News Analysis
Important Facts for Prelims (18th October 2018)

Kamikaze Drone At its Raising Day function in Manesar, the National Security Guard (NSG) showcased recently acquired unmanned aerial vehicles...

18 Oct 2018 News Analysis
A Flawed Defence Procurement Policy

(The editorial is based on the article “A flawed defence procurement policy” which appeared in LiveMint on 18th October 2018. It...

18 Oct 2018 News Editorials
Rural Development Ministry Conducts Survey under Mission Antyodaya

The Rural Development Ministry has done a gap analysis of more than 3.5 lakh villages, in more than 1.6 lakh panchayats under the Mission Antyodaya...

18 Oct 2018 News Analysis
Important Facts for Prelims (17th October 2018)

Oldest Evidence of Animal Life Found Researchers have found the oldest clue of animal life in rocks from Oman, Siberia, and India. Research...

17 Oct 2018 News Analysis
Has The SC Missed A Chance To Keep Criminals Out Of Polls

(The editorial is based on the article “Has the SC missed a chance to keep criminals out of polls” which appeared in The Hindu on 12th...

17 Oct 2018 News Editorials
RBI Allows Interoperability Among Mobile Wallets

Recently the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released guidelines to facilitate payments among different mobile wallets, a move aimed at promoting digital...

17 Oct 2018 News Analysis
Annapurna Devi of Hindustani Music Passes Away

Annapurna Devi, prominent artist of classical Hindustani music, recently passed away at the age of 92. She was the iconic and famously reclusive...

17 Oct 2018 News Analysis
UN Report on FDI

India attracted USD 22 billion of FDI flows in the first half of 2018, according to a UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)...

17 Oct 2018 News Analysis
How Can India Overcome The Zero Hunger Challenge

(The editorial is based on the article “How can India overcome the zero hunger challenge” which appeared in Livemint on 16th October...

16 Oct 2018 News Editorials

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			'title' => 'Arrest The Exodus In Gujarat',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><strong>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;Arrest the exodus in Gujarat&rdquo; which appeared in The Hindu on 10th October 2018. It analyses the problem of migrants in India.)</strong></p>
</div>
<p>Migrant workers are indispensable to the Indian economy. Migrants play a vital role in greasing the wheels of growth in states, including states like Gujarat, by providing cheap <g class="gr_ gr_158 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="158" data-gr-id="158">labour</g> in the many small and medium enterprises in the manufacturing and construction sectors. The mobility of <g class="gr_ gr_159 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="159" data-gr-id="159">labour</g> pushes the economy forward.<strong> Economic Survey (2016-17)</strong> covers a whole chapter on migration. According to it, annually inter-state labor mobility averaged 5-6 million people between 2001 and 2011, yielding an inter-state migrant population of about 60 million and an inter-district migration as high as 80 million.</p>
<p>Recently thousands of migrants fled north Gujarat&rsquo;s industrial areas following violence triggered by the rape of a 14-year-old in Sabarkantha district by one such migrant worker. Many industries got affected, such as auto-ancillaries, pharma, ceramics, cotton ginning, fertilizers and chemicals, and construction, in regions around Sanand, Sabarkantha, Patan, and Aravali. No industrial economy, more so Gujarat which depends heavily on migrant workers, can thrive in an atmosphere of fear and insecurity. The situation has now cooled off a bit after State government interference in &ldquo;confidence-building&rdquo; steps.</p>
<h3>Why Do People Migrate?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The agricultural base of rural areas does not provide employment to all the people living there. Regional development disparity compels people to migrate from rural to urban areas.</li>
<li>Lack of educational facilities, especially those of higher education influences the rural people to migrate to urban centers for this purpose.</li>
<li>Political disturbances and inter-ethnic conflicts drive people away from their homes. For example, a large number of people has migrated out of Jammu and Kashmir and Assam during the last few years due to disturbed conditions there.</li>
<li>Poverty and lack of employment opportunity drive people to move from one place to one another.</li>
<li>People also migrate on a short-term basis in search of better medical facilities, for availing better tertiary health and financial services.</li>
<li>Some of the other push factors such as lack of food, climate change, religious oppression, civil wars lead to internal migration.</li>
<li>Pull factors which include peace and safety, a chance of a better standard of living in general as well as political and religious freedom also encourage people to move from one place to another.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues Related With Migrants</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Political Issues</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Migrants lack political agency vis-a-vis the local government machinery. As the political class ignores migrant workers because they don&rsquo;t count as votes, especially in the case of inter-state migrants.</li>
<li>Due to their mobile nature, they don&rsquo;t find any place in the manifestos of trade unions.</li>
<li>Lack of proper documents makes them vulnerable to harassment by the police and other local authorities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Socio-cultural issues</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Lakhs of unskilled and migrant workers live on worksites in makeshift huts (usually made of tin sheets) or on roads, slums and in illegal settlements not served by municipalities.</li>
<li>They are neither able to save much to improve their conditions back in their home States nor save enough to live comfortably in a place where they work.</li>
<li>Cultural differences, language barriers, isolation from the society, lack of accessibility for quality education in mother tongue are some of the other issues faced.</li>
<li>Very few migrants are aware of their entitlements, legal and economic. Similarly, citizens who are in the majority remain apathetic to the plight of victims.</li>
<li>Because of limiting job opportunities migrants are becoming victims of resentment, as people of the state see them as encroachers of present jobs.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Economic issues</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Seasonal migrants dominate the low-paying, hazardous and informal market jobs which are key sectors in urban destinations, such as construction, hotel, textile, manufacturing, transportation, services, domestic work etc.</li>
<li>They have poor access to health services, which results in very poor occupational health. Since they cannot afford private hospitals, they often go back to their villages once they fall sick. This affects their employment opportunities, as well as the loss of wages.</li>
<li>A large number of migrants find work as unskilled <g class="gr_ gr_146 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="146" data-gr-id="146">labourers</g> since they enter the job market at a very early age, experience no upward mobility and remain stuck in the most unskilled, poorly paid and hazardous jobs for their whole work-life span.</li>
<li>In an unorganized and chaotic <g class="gr_ gr_143 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="143" data-gr-id="143">labour</g> market, migrant workers regularly face conflicts and disputes at worksites.</li>
<li>The common issues they face are non-payment of wages, physical abuse, and accidents.</li>
<li>Many informal sector disputes never make their way to <g class="gr_ gr_150 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="150" data-gr-id="150">labour</g> courts or keep languishing in courts for lack of proof. The existing legal machinery is not sensitive to the nature of legal disputes in the unorganized sector.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>If the migrant workforce in the state is forced to leave, industries will lose their competitiveness as there will be a significant rise in <g class="gr_ gr_134 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="134" data-gr-id="134">labour</g> costs.</li>
<li>The State must follow a more holistic policy of creating incentives for firms leading to greater employment, instead of merely dictating higher recruitment of locals.</li>
<li>Enforcement of <g class="gr_ gr_136 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="136" data-gr-id="136">labour</g> laws and enactment of a comprehensive law should be done at the workplaces, stricter enforcement of existing <g class="gr_ gr_138 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="138" data-gr-id="138">labour</g> laws, including the Interstate Migrant Workmen Act, is essential.</li>
<li>Segmenting the <g class="gr_ gr_137 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="137" data-gr-id="137">labour</g> market and creating a separate <g class="gr_ gr_139 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="139" data-gr-id="139">labour</g> market for migrant workers with <g class="gr_ gr_133 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="133" data-gr-id="133">security</g> of tenure should be developed across India.</li>
<li>Identity cards can be issued by governments to make them avail essential basic facilities.</li>
<li>There should be <g class="gr_ gr_130 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="130" data-gr-id="130">development</g> in small and medium industries such as village and cottage industries, handlooms, handicrafts <g class="gr_ gr_129 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="129" data-gr-id="129">and</g> food processing and agro-industries to reduce rural-urban migration.</li>
<li>The focus should be on ensuring basic entitlements and social security. A major policy focus has to be on ensuring that migrant households have citizenship rights in the destination areas and are able to access basic facilities, benefits of public programmes, and social security schemes meant for poor households.</li>
<li>Special policy focus should be made under the Right to Education (RTE) Act to ensure educational access of migrant <g class="gr_ gr_127 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="127" data-gr-id="127">labourers</g>. Skill development should also be a priority to include them in organized sectors.</li>
<li>Information base and bargaining strength of migrant workers should be improved to protect them from vulnerability.</li>
<li>Panchayats should emerge as the focus of the resource pool for migrant workers residing in their area. They should maintain a register of migrant workers and issue identity cards and passbooks to them.</li>
<li>Making the migrant workers aware of their rights is the first thing to do by authorities.</li>
<li>Diversity and free interaction between various groups make states and the country economically, socially and culturally stronger. According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, &ldquo;An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts.&rdquo;</li>
<li>The challenges are still complex and the lack of recognition for migrants is still to be fully addressed. Unless we view migrant workers as a dynamic part of a changing India, we will not be able to solve the problem of migrant workers.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Laws in support of migrant workers</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service)Act (1979)</li>
<li>Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (1986)</li>
<li>Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act (1996)</li>
<li>Unorganized Workers Social Security Act (2008)</li>
<li>Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act (1970)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Constitutional provisions</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of movement for all citizens. The foundational principles of free migration are enshrined in clauses (d) and (e) of Article 19(1) of the Constitution, which guarantee all citizens the right to move freely throughout the territory of <g class="gr_ gr_141 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="141" data-gr-id="141">India,</g> and reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.</li>
<li>Article 15 prohibits discrimination on the basis of place of birth, among other grounds.</li>
<li>While Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment, and in particular prohibits the denial of access to public employment on the grounds of place of birth or residence.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision in Charu Khurana v. Union of India and Others case clearly renders restrictions based on residence for the purposes of employment unconstitutional.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		],
		(int) 1 => [
			'title' => 'NASA Named New Constellations',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>NASA has named 21 set of new Gamma Ray Constellations.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>NASA has named them after fictional characters like Doctor who, Hulk, Colosseum,&nbsp;Schr&ouml;dinger's cat, Eiffel Tower, and Godzilla.</li>
<li>The constellations were constructed with sources visible through its Fermi-Gamma Ray Space Telescope.</li>
<li>These unofficial constellations were developed to celebrate the completion of 10 years of operations of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly called the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is a space observatory being used to perform gamma-ray astronomy observations from low Earth orbit.</li>
<li>Fermi was launched on June 11, 2008. It is named after Enrico Fermi, an Italian-American scientist who did pioneering work in high-energy physics.</li>
<li>Fermi maps the entire sky every three hours, Fermi provides an important window into the most extreme phenomena of the universe, like gamma-ray bursts, black-hole jets, and pulsars.</li>
<li>Fermi is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, along with important contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Gamma Rays</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The highest-energy light in the universe.</li>
<li>Gamma rays can have over a billion times the energy of the type of light visible to our eyes.</li>
<li>They are produced by the hottest and most energetic objects in the universe, such as neutron stars and pulsars, supernova explosions, and regions around black holes.</li>
<li>On Earth, gamma rays are generated by nuclear explosions, lightning, and the less dramatic activity of radioactive decay.</li>
<li>Gamma-ray astronomy is the astronomical observation of gamma rays with photon energies above 100 keV(Kilo Electron Volt).</li>
<li>Gamma rays are so energetic that they are harmful to life on Earth.</li>
<li>Earth's atmosphere absorbs gamma rays, preventing them from affecting life on the ground.</li>
<li>Astronomical observations of gamma-ray sources are therefore done with high-altitude balloons or satellites, above the protective blanket of Earth's atmosphere.</li>
<li>The gamma rays possess high energy they can pass right through any lens or mirror, making it very difficult to focus them in a visible-light telescope.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Pulsars are types of neutron stars which emit radio pulses at regular intervals.</li>
<li>Neutron Star is the dead relics of massive stars.</li>
<li>An electronvolt is a unit of energy close to that of visible light.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		],
		(int) 2 => [
			'title' => 'Insolvency Law Committee Report',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The ILC has submitted its <strong>2<sup>nd</sup> Report to the Government, which deals with cross-border insolvency</strong>.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Insolvency Law Committee (ILC) was constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to recommend amendments to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India, 2016.</li>
<li>The necessity of having such Framework under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code arises from the fact that many Indian companies have a global footprint and many foreign companies have the presence in multiple countries including India.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Committee Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The ILC has recommended the adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, 1997, as it provides for a comprehensive framework to deal with cross-border insolvency issues.</li>
<li>The Committee has also recommended a few measures to ensure that there is no inconsistency between the domestic insolvency framework and the proposed Cross-Border Insolvency Framework.</li>
<li><strong>UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, 1997</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The model law is designed to assist States to equip their insolvency laws with a modern legal framework to more effectively address cross-border insolvency proceedings concerning debtors experiencing severe financial distress or insolvency.</li>
<li>The model law deals with four major principles of cross-border insolvency:
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Access</strong>:&nbsp;direct access to foreign insolvency professionals and foreign creditors to participate in or commence domestic insolvency proceedings against a defaulting debtor</li>
<li><strong>Recognition</strong>: recognition of foreign proceedings &amp; provision of remedies</li>
<li><strong>Cooperation</strong>: cooperation between domestic and foreign courts &amp; domestic and foreign insolvency practitioners</li>
<li><strong>Coordination</strong>: coordination between two or more concurrent insolvency proceedings in different countries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The UNCITRAL Model Law forms part of international best practices in dealing with cross-border insolvency issues and has been adopted in 44 countries including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<h3>UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The United Nations Commission on International Trade and Law is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law.</li>
<li><strong>Membership</strong>: The Commission comprises 60 member States elected by the United Nations General Assembly for a term of six years.</li>
<li>India is currently a member of UNCITRAL and will serve till 2022.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Key advantages of adopting the Model Law</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Increasing foreign investment:</strong> there will be significant positive signaling to global investors, creditors, governments, international organizations such as the World Bank as well as multinational corporations with regard to the robustness of India's financial sector reforms.</li>
<li><strong>Flexibility:</strong> The Model Law is designed to be flexible and to respect the differences amongst national insolvency laws.</li>
<li><strong>Protection of domestic interest:</strong> The Model Law enables refusal of recognition of foreign proceedings or provision of any other assistance if such action contradicts domestic public policy. Hence, it provides protection to the public interest.</li>
<li><strong>Priority to domestic proceedings:</strong> The Model Law gives precedence to domestic insolvency proceedings in relation to foreign proceedings. For example, a moratorium due to the recognition of a foreign proceeding will not prevent the commencement of domestic insolvency proceedings.</li>
<li><strong>Mechanism for cooperation:</strong> The Model Law incorporates a robust mechanism for cooperation and coordination between courts and insolvency professionals, in foreign jurisdictions and domestically. This would facilitate faster and effective conduct of concurrent proceedings.</li>
<li><strong>Global Standards:</strong> The inclusion of the Cross-Border Insolvency Chapter in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India, 2016, will be a major step forward and will bring Indian Insolvency Law on a par with that of matured jurisdictions.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<h3>Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Code creates a framework for resolving insolvency in India.</li>
<li>The Code will apply to companies, partnerships, limited liability partnerships,<br />individuals and any other body specified by the Central Government.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Salient Features</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Insolvency professionals and agencies:</strong> The resolution process will be conducted by a licensed insolvency professional (IP). The IP will control the assets of the debtor during the process. Insolvency professional agencies will be created to regulate these IPs. The agencies will conduct examinations to enroll IPs and enforce a code of conduct for their functioning.</li>
<li><strong>Information utilities:</strong> The Code establishes multiple information utilities to collect, collate and disseminate financial information related to a debtor. This will include a record of debt and liabilities of the debtor.</li>
<li><strong>Insolvency regulator:</strong> The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India will be established as a regulator to oversee the functioning of IPs, insolvency professional agencies and information utilities. The Board will have 10 members, including representatives from the Central Government and the Reserve Bank of India.</li>
<li><strong>Adjudicatory authorities:</strong> The Code proposes two tribunals to adjudicate insolvency resolution cases: The National Company Law Tribunal will adjudicate cases for companies and limited liability partnerships. The Debt Recovery Tribunal will adjudicate cases for individuals and partnership firms.</li>
<li><strong>Insolvency and Bankruptcy Fund:</strong> The Code creates an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Fund. The Fund will receive voluntary contributions from any person. In case of insolvency proceedings being initiated against the contributor, he will be allowed to withdraw his contribution for making payments to workmen, protecting his assets, etc.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		],
		(int) 3 => [
			'title' => 'India’s Failure To Address Its Urban Slum Problem',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><strong>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;India&rsquo;s failure to address its urban slum problem&rdquo; which appeared in Livemint on 23rd October 2018. It analyses the problem of hidden hunger in India.)</strong></p>
</div>
<h3>What are Slums?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Slums are illegal urban settlements on public land and usually grow over a period of time in a constant and irregular manner. Despite this fact. Slums are considered as an integral part of urbanization and as a manifestation of the overall socioeconomic policies and planning in the urban sector. The existence and rapid growth of slums have been noted as a general urban phenomena common prevalent throughout the globe.</li>
<li>According to the United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, a slum is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and poverty and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the proportion of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the developing world between 1990 and 2005. However, due to rising population, the number of slum dwellers is rising day by day.</li>
<li>Slums may also be described as &ldquo;a chaotically occupied, unsystematically developed and generally neglected area, which is overpopulated by persons and overcrowded with ill-repaired and neglected structures" (Indian Conference, 1957). They have emerged out of the urban development process and are unplanned, unintended settlements ignored in the whole process of urban development.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/567Dharavi_India.jpg" width="725" height="407" /></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Asia's largest slum,<strong> Dharavi,</strong> lies on prime property right in the middle of Mumbai (Neza, in Mexico, is the world&rsquo;s largest slum).</li>
<li>Half-a-million people or so, live in the 230 hectares that <g class="gr_ gr_125 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace gr-progress" id="125" data-gr-id="125">is</g> Dharavi.</li>
<li>It was founded in 1882 at the time of British Raj. During the 18th century, unplanned localities started to grow when the process of urbanization of Mumbai was going on.</li>
<li>Recently, the Maharashtra government signed an initiative: A special purpose vehicle with 80% private and 20% government stake to redevelop Dharavi as a whole rather than in separate sub-clusters as previously envisioned.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Reasons for growing slums</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Population explosion and poverty <g class="gr_ gr_148 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="148" data-gr-id="148">force</g> the urban poor to live in slums and that leads to an increase in the size of slums. Also, a regional imbalance in development creates rural to urban migration, thus increasing the overall urban population density which pressurizes the urban poor to move into slums.</li>
<li>In the past 15 years, India&rsquo;s urban population density has increased by 45%. It is further estimated that 40% of the population will live in urban areas by 2026. With increasingly densified urban population, there exists a huge demand for land. This shortage of land forces the urban poor to live in increasingly dense communities creating slums in the process.</li>
<li>Rising material costs and labor costs resulting from labor shortage is another reason for the growth of slums as it makes developers unable to deliver affordable housing to the market.</li>
<li>Also, delayed procedures for land development forces people to stay in congested areas which further leads to <g class="gr_ gr_123 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="123" data-gr-id="123">creation</g> of slums.</li>
<li>A lack of efficiency of urban local bodies coupled with unplanned city management is also one of the major reasons for <g class="gr_ gr_120 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="120" data-gr-id="120">creation</g> of slum areas.</li>
<li>Moreover, social backwardness forces people to live in congested areas away from main areas. For example, more Scheduled Castes (SCs) live in slums - with one out of every five residents belonging to the SC category.</li>
<li>A lack of political will for developing slums can also be seen, as slums provide cheap and steady <g class="gr_ gr_118 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="118" data-gr-id="118">labour</g> (party-workers) to political parties.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues arising from neglecting slum development</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Slums act as a magnet for the rural poor by attracting them towards city life. This it does by partially blinding them from the hardships that accompany life in the city.</li>
<li>People living in slum areas are also prone to suffer from waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera, as well as from more fatal ones like cancer and HIV/AIDS.</li>
<li>Also, women and children living in slums are prone to become victims of social evils like prostitution, beggary and child trafficking. Slum dwellers in general and regardless of gender, often become victims of such social evils.</li>
<li>Slum areas are also commonly believed to be places that generate a high incidence of crime. This is due to official neglect towards education, law and order, and government services in slum areas.</li>
<li>Then, the majority of slum dwellers in a developing country earn their living from the informal sector which neither provides them with financial security nor with enough earnings for a decent living, keeping them firmly within the vicious cycle of poverty.</li>
<li>Lastly, hunger, malnourishment, lack of quality education, high infant mortality, child marriage, child <g class="gr_ gr_117 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="117" data-gr-id="117">labour</g> are some of the other social problems prevalent in slums.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Poverty is the most significant reason behind the creation of slums. So, the issue of poverty must be addressed first by policymakers.</li>
<li>There is also a need for future policies to support the livelihoods of the urban poor by enabling urban informal-sector activities to flourish and develop. Slum policies should be integrated within broader, people-focused urban poverty reduction policies that address the various dimensions of poverty.</li>
<li>Easy geographical access to jobs through pro-poor transport should also be created.</li>
<li>Adequate data should be gathered by conducting various studies before the formulation of any policy.</li>
<li>There is also a need for investment in citywide infrastructure as a pre-condition for successful and affordable slum upgrading, which could also act as one strong mechanism for reversing the socio-economic exclusion of slum dwellers.</li>
<li>Steps should be taken such that a higher and more stable income be made accessible to slum dwellers through their employment in productive jobs. This is because employment opportunities in urban <g class="gr_ gr_138 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="138" data-gr-id="138">centres</g> that pay well <g class="gr_ gr_137 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="137" data-gr-id="137">has</g> the potential to generate a healthy and sustainable lifestyle in the slums.</li>
<li>Lastly, slums should be developed because developing slums also trigger local economic development, improve urban mobility and connectivity, and integrate the slums, which are enormous economically productive spheres, into the physical and socioeconomic fabric of the wider city.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>To improve urban infrastructure, the Government has taken various steps:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Smart City Mission (to create smart cities) to focus on basic amenities, education, health services, IT accessibility, digitization, e-governance, sustainable development, safety, and security.</li>
<li>Housing for all by 2022 for constructing houses for slum dwellers under the slum-rehabilitation scheme and providing loans at subsidized rates for the economically weaker sections.</li>
<li>AMRUT: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation to build a gap between infrastructural necessity and their accessibility.</li>
<li>HRIDAY: National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana to preserve and holistically develop the heritage cities of India.</li>
<li>Swachh Bharat Mission for improving cleanliness and sanitation.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Slum development projects across the world:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Slum Improvement Program, Dhaka, Bangladesh</strong>: The Slum Improvement Programme accomplished a major breakthrough in providing a basic physical infrastructure system to the urban poor.</li>
<li><strong>Quetta Katchi Abadis Environment Management Programme in Karachi</strong> showed how community-based sanitation management in informal settlements can be successful.</li>
<li><strong>Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme:</strong> Implementation Strategy of this project outlines several programmatic principles and values such as decentralization, sustainability, democratization and empowerment, transparency and accountability, resource mobilization, secure tenure, expansion and upscaling, and partnerships and networks.</li>
<li>Integrated Approach to Reducing Poverty <strong>Mukuru Slum, Nairobi, Kenya</strong>: project was launched, with the aim of improving services in three Mukuru slums; Donholm, Centre, and Riverside which have a combined population of 67,000. They chose a particular slum pocket which was found to be vulnerable in access to sanitation and water supply facilities.</li>
<li><strong>Madhya Pradesh Urban Services</strong> for the Poor: has been initiated by DFID (The Department for International Development (DFID) India, with its headquarters in New Delhi, is part of the British High Commission family. It implements DFID&rsquo;s largest single overseas programme contributing to poverty eradication) in partnership with the Government of Madhya Pradesh (GoMP) for infrastructure development, slum development, and poverty reduction.</li>
<li><strong>Mahila Milan</strong>- A Case of Suryodaya Housing Society, Pune, Maharashtra: it has brought together 3500 women across the Pune city slums. Mahila Milan was initiated to empower women through Bachat Gats (SHGs). It works in 56 slum settlements of Pune with thrift and credit activity.</li>
<li>In situ rehabilitation of around 2800 families of <strong>Kathputli colony in Delhi</strong> is underway.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/India’s-failure-to-address-its-urban-slum-problem'
		],
		(int) 4 => [
			'title' => 'Harit Diwali Swasth Diwali campaign',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The air pollution in the northern region is attributed to dust, burning of crops in certain states, burning of garbage construction and prevailing climatic conditions.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It has serious impacts on the health of children aged people and people suffering from respiratory ailments.</li>
<li>Diwali which is a festival of lights falls during the same period. As a matter of practice people have been celebrating Diwali by bursting crackers.</li>
<li>Crackers contains combustible chemicals that include potassium chlorate powdered aluminum, magnesium, salts of barium, copper, sodium, lithium, strontium etc. and emits smoke on combustion of these chemicals along with sound.</li>
<li>This smoke and sound has health impacts on children, aged people and also animal and birds. Apart from these compounds large amount of waste is also generated after bursting of crackers.</li>
<li>Keeping in view the above detrimental effects and also the importance of the festival, Ministry has initiated a <strong>&ldquo;Harit&ndash;Diwali&rdquo; campaign</strong>.</li>
<li>This campaign was initiated in 2017-18 wherein large number of school children especially from eco-clubs participated and took pledge to minimize bursting of crackers and also discouraged the neighborhood and their friends from bursting of crackers.</li>
<li>During this intensive campaign, the children were advised to celebrate Diwali in an environment-friendly manner by gifting plant sapling to their relatives and friends along with sweets.</li>
<li>The children were encouraged to light up their houses and their schools with candles and diyas. The above campaign was extremely successful and the air quality had not deteriorated post Diwali in 2017 unlike what was experienced in 2016.</li>
<li>On the above lines, the Ministry has initiated the similar campaign, but this year the campaign has been extended Pan-India. The <strong>&ldquo;Harit Diwali-Swasth Diwali&rdquo;</strong> campaign is now merged with <strong>&ldquo;Green Good Deed&rdquo; movement</strong> that has been initiated as a social mobilization for conservation and protection of environment. The Ministry encourages all schools and colleges to be part of this campaign.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Green Good Deed Movement</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Green Good Deeds, the societal movement was launched by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to protect environment and promote good living in the country.</li>
<li>It urges people to perform at least one Green Good Deed every day which includes planting trees, saving energy, conserving water, use of public transport and promoting carpool etc.</li>
<li>It has found acceptance by the global community. The BRICS Ministerial on Environment at Durban, South Africa, has agreed to include &ldquo;Green Good Deeds&rdquo; in its official agenda in the next Ministerial in Brazil.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/harit-diwali-swasth-diwali-campaign'
		],
		(int) 5 => [
			'title' => 'Tiger Attacks',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently a tigress shifted to Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR) claimed another human life.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The tigress was brought from&nbsp;Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh to Odisha&rsquo;s Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR) as part of a tiger re-introduction programme.</li>
<li>The programme is being implemented by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest and its statutory body National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). It aims to shift six tigers &mdash; three males and three females.</li>
<li>In 2004, Satkosia had 11 tigers, including four adult males and six adult females. The number went down to eight in 2010 and to two in 2014.</li>
<li>
<p>Tiger conservationists say it is critical to identify and mitigate factors responsible for a decline in tiger population before trying to introduce new tigers in the area. Emphasis should be on protecting the forest, curbing illegal hunting, increasing prey numbers.</p>
</li>
<li>The recent attacks in Odisha comes in the backdrop of an ongoing intensive operation to catch or shoot tigress T1 and catch her two cubs alive in Ralegaon area of Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, where 13 people have died in tiger attacks since June 2016.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reasons for Attacks</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The depleting forest cover and growing human presence, in around 650 wildlife zones in the country. Reports by the Forest Survey of India since early 1990s indicate that around one-third of the dense forest cover has been lost and half the traditional wildlife corridors have disappeared, bringing animals and people dangerously close.</li>
<li>Densely packed tiger forests often lead to young and old tigers wandering outside. Such wandering tigers are more likely to come into conflict with people.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Many of these attacks on people are accidental. A tigress with cubs, a tiger protecting its kill, or a tiger startled by the appearance of people are prone to charge in self-defence.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Why Save Tigers?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A 2015 report of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) titled: &ldquo;Economic Evaluation of Tiger Reserves in India: A VALUE+ Approach&rdquo; highlights why &ldquo;large&rdquo; areas are reserved for preserving fierce animals like the tiger, when we need more land for human use.</li>
<li>It says that tigers are &ldquo;umbrella&rdquo; species. And by saving tigers, everything beneath their ecological umbrella - everything connected to them - including the world's last great forests, whose carbon storage mitigates climate change are saved.</li>
<li>NTCA&rsquo;s recent paper called the &ldquo;Making the Hidden Visible: Economic Valuation of Tiger Reserves in India&rdquo; lists the benefits rising from tiger reserves. They include employment generation, agriculture, fishing, fuel wood, fodder and grazing, carbon storage and sequestration, water and its purification by filtering organic wastes, soil conservation, nutrient cycling, and moderation of extreme events such as cyclone storms, flash floods.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Project Tiger</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Project Tiger is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change launched in 1973 to provide central assistance to the tiger States for tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves in India.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Killing a Man-Eater Tiger</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Conservation is about saving the species and not defending individual animals at the cost of the species. Letting a man-eater continue in the wild results in more attacks, turning locals against the Forest Department and making every tiger in the vicinity a potential target of reprisal.</li>
<li>In the era of mass media, callous handling of conflict can shape the public perception of the tiger across the land and affect every community that lives in and around tiger forests.&nbsp;&nbsp;Prompt action sends the right message to local communities.</li>
<li>Although, the 2013 Standard Operating Procedure of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) says an &ldquo;aberrant tiger&rdquo; (man-eater) must be caught and &ldquo;sent to the nearest recognised zoo and NOT released in the wild&rdquo;, the conditions and circumstances makes trapping and tranquillisation difficult.</li>
<li>Seasonal abundance of forest undergrowth may not allow clear vision or approach required for darting within a range of 15-25 metres. If live capture is not possible, the only option is to gun down the animal.</li>
<li>
<p>Moreover, it does not make a difference to conservation whether a tiger is send to a zoo or killed. In both cases, it is one tiger less in the wild.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Public outcry over a spate of human killings should neither provoke forest officials to hastily declare a tiger a man-eater nor come in the way of promptly removing an identified man-eater.</li>
<li>It is very important to find solutions that lead to mutually beneficial co-existence of animals and the local human communities.</li>
<li>Ensuring that both humans and animals have the space by protecting key areas for wildlife, creating buffer zones and investing in alternative land uses are some of the solutions.</li>
<li>
<p>Losing a handful of tigers that have become, for no fault of their own, a threat to local communities will not risk the future of the species. In fact, it will help the tiger retain local goodwill.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Likewise, fighting poor communities and the disempowered forest departments on sporadic shoot-on-sight orders will not secure the big cat&rsquo;s future as well. That time and energy may be better spent saving the tiger against the powers of mindless development.</p>
</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/tiger-attacks'
		],
		(int) 6 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (22nd October 2018)',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>BEPICOLOMBO: Mission to Mercury</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)</strong> sent two probes on a joint mission called BepiColombo to Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun.</li>
<li>The spacecraft is named after Italian scientist Giuseppe &ldquo;Bepi&rdquo; Colombo (1920-1984) who played an instrumental role in making NASA Mariner 10 mission (1973) to Mercury successful.</li>
<li>The spacecraft will reach the Mercury by 2025.</li>
<li>It is the first mission by the European and Japanese Space agency to Mercury.</li>
<li>It is also the first mission to send two spacecraft to make complementary measurements of the planet and its environment at the same time.</li>
<li>The spacecraft are ESA&rsquo;s Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and JAXA&rsquo;s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO, or &lsquo;Mio&rsquo;).</li>
<li>The ESA-built Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) will carry the orbiters to Mercury using a combination of solar electric propulsion and gravity assisted flybys.</li>
<li>The two orbiters will also collect data at Venus.</li>
<li>The challenges to the mission include:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Sun&rsquo;s gravity makes it difficult to place a spacecraft into a stable orbit around the mercury.</li>
<li>The spacecraft also have to face extreme temperatures and solar radiations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>With this mission researchers are hoping to learn about the formation of planets and the solar system.</li>
<li>Past Missions to Mercury:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Mariner 10</strong> - NASA Flyby Mission (Flyby is a path spacecraft follows past a planet or other body in space) to Venus and Mercury (1973)</li>
<li><strong>MESSENGER</strong> - NASA Orbiter to Mercury (2004)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Kumbh Mela</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Kumbh Mela is the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth, during which participants bathe or take a dip in a sacred river.</li>
<li><strong>Kumbh Mela comes under the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.</strong></li>
<li>The festival is held at <strong>Prayagraj&nbsp;</strong>(at the<strong> confluence of Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati</strong>), <strong>Haridwar</strong> (on the <strong>Ganges</strong>), <strong>Ujjain</strong> (on the <strong>Shipra</strong>) and <strong>Nasik</strong> (on the <strong>Godavari</strong>) every four years by rotation and is attended by millions of people irrespective of caste, creed or gender.</li>
<li>As it is held in four different cities in India, it involves different social and cultural activities, making this a culturally diverse festival.</li>
<li>The event encapsulates the science of astronomy, astrology, spirituality, ritualistic traditions, and social and cultural customs and practices, making it extremely rich in knowledge.</li>
<li>Knowledge and skills related to the tradition are transmitted through ancient religious manuscripts, oral traditions, historical travelogues and texts produced by eminent historians.</li>
<li>The teacher-student relationship of the sadhus in the ashrams and <g class="gr_ gr_67 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="67" data-gr-id="67">akhadas</g> remains the most important method of imparting and safeguarding knowledge and skills relating to Kumbh Mela.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Green Climate Fund</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A Green Climate Fund has approved more than $1 billion for 19 new projects.</li>
<li>Green Climate Fund was set up under the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention for Climate Change) at <strong>Conference of Parties (COP-16) in Cancun, Mexico 2010.</strong></li>
<li>The aim of GCF is to support developing countries in limiting or reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change impacts with resources to be generated from funding by developed countries and various public and private sources.</li>
<li><strong>National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) </strong>and <strong>Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) </strong>act as<strong> National Implementing Entity (NIE) </strong>of India for Green Climate Fund (GCF).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Similipal National Park</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Similipal National Park in <strong>Mayurbhanj district of Odisha</strong> will be reopened for tourists after remaining closed for three months due to monsoon.</li>
<li>Similipal National Park is also a Tiger Reserve. It is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserve since 2009.</li>
<li>It is part of the<strong> Similipal-Kuldiha-Hadgarh Elephant Reserve </strong>popularly known as Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve, which includes 3 protected areas i.e.<strong> Similipal Tiger Reserve, Hadgarh Wildlife sanctuary and Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary.</strong></li>
<li>Similipal National Park derives its name from the abundance of Semul or red silk cotton trees that bloom abundantly in the locality.</li>
<li>It was formally designated a tiger reserve in 1956 and brought under Project Tiger in the year of 1973. The Government of Odisha declared Similipal as a wildlife sanctuary in 1979.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-22nd-october-2018'
		],
		(int) 7 => [
			'title' => 'An Innovative Method For Boosting Nutrition',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><strong>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;An innovative method for boosting nutrition&rdquo; which appeared in Livemint on 22nd October 2018. It analyses the problem of hidden hunger in India.)</strong></p>
</div>
<p>Almost every country in the world now faces a stern nutrition-related challenge, whether arising from under-nutrition or obesity. India is also striving hard to fight the problem of hidden hunger.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Hidden Hunger</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Hidden hunger is a lack of vitamins and minerals. Hidden hunger occurs when the quality of food people eat does not meet the nutrient requirements, so the food is deficient in micronutrients such as the vitamins and minerals that need for their growth and development.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Importance of Nutrition</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Essential nutrients are compounds that the body can&rsquo;t make or can&rsquo;t make in sufficient quantity. According to the World Health Organization, these nutrients must come from food, and they&rsquo;re vital for disease prevention, growth, and good health.</li>
<li>Despite this there is a decline in the percentage of the number of women and children suffering from <g class="gr_ gr_136 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="136" data-gr-id="136">anaemia</g> in the past few years, the high absolute numbers are worrying. Incidentally, <g class="gr_ gr_137 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="137" data-gr-id="137">anaemia</g> accounts for 20% of the maternal deaths that take place in the country.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Status of Nutrition in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Iron deficiency and <g class="gr_ gr_128 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="128" data-gr-id="128">anaemia</g> are well-recognized and persistent problems in India.<a href="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/597Capture.PNG" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/597Capture.PNG" style="float: right;" width="451" height="300" caption="false" /></a></li>
<li>Poor dietary habits during adolescence,(which is a period of rapid growth) leads to undernutrition.</li>
<li>A 2016 survey of around 8,000 adolescents, conducted by the Population Council in two Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, found that 55% of younger girls (10-14 years), 65% of older girls (15-19 years), 34% of younger boys, and 29% of older boys were anemic.</li>
<li>Iron deficiency is thought to be the most common cause of <g class="gr_ gr_123 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="123" data-gr-id="123">anaemia</g> globally, accounting for between 25-50% of <g class="gr_ gr_124 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="124" data-gr-id="124">anaemia</g> cases.</li>
<li>Global Nutrition Report 2017 (by World Health Organisation) also shows that India is facing a serious burden of undernutrition, that more than half the women of reproductive age in the country suffer from <g class="gr_ gr_127 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="127" data-gr-id="127">anaemia</g>.<br />Latest figures show that 38% of children under five are affected by stunting &ndash; (children too short for their age due to lack of nutrients), suffering irreversible damage to brain capacity. About 21% of children under 5 are defined as &lsquo;wasted&rsquo; or &lsquo;severely wasted&rsquo;. And 16% of adult men and 22% of adult women are overweight.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Change in nutrition practices</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>While the calorific value of the food distribution to reduce poverty and manage hunger is being taken care of by various measures, a shift can be seen in the focus on nutrition intake. It has shifted from quantity to quality. Biofortification can be one of the measures to address the problem of &lsquo;hidden hunger&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>
<h3>What is Biofortification?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Biofortification is the process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology.</li>
<li>Biofortification can be done using non-genetically-modified methods as well. Biofortification using traditional method involves crossing varieties over successive generations to eventually yield a plant with high nutrient content along with other favorable traits.</li>
<li>Examples of biofortification projects include:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Iron-biofortification of rice, beans, sweet potato, cassava, and legumes.</li>
<li>Zinc-biofortification of wheat, rice, beans, sweet potato, and maize.</li>
<li>Provitamin A carotenoid-biofortification of sweet potato, maize and cassava.</li>
<li>Amino acid and protein-biofortification of sorghum and cassava.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Importance of Biofortification</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Biofortified crops are rich in iron and have the potential to improve iron status and cognition. That helps in improving the overall health of human.</li>
<li>Biofortified crops are also often more resilient to pests, diseases, higher temperatures, drought and provide a high yield.</li>
<li>Biofortification fills an important gap as it provides a food-based, sustainable and low-dose alternative to iron supplementation. It does not require behavior change, can reach the poorest sections of the society, and supports local farmers.</li>
<li>After the initial investment to develop the biofortified seed, it can be replicated and distributed without any reduction in the micronutrient concentration. This makes it highly cost-effective and sustainable.</li>
<li>Considering the various implementation barriers faced by genetically modified crops in India, biofortification which can be done through non-genetically-modified methods as well can be a better alternative.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Challenges for Biofortification in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Lack of consumer acceptance due to color changes (e.g. golden rice) and last mile reach of fortified food remains a big challenge.</li>
<li>Adoption of farmers and cost involved in the process of fortification also poses a challenge for biofortification in India.</li>
<li>Though biofortification can be done using non-genetically-modified methods it is a slower process than genetic modification.</li>
<li>The existence of an effective seed and rural extension system for multiplication and dissemination of new varieties will also pose a challenge.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Because of the prevalence of diverse food practices in the country, biofortification will need to achieve high rates of adoption and consumption in geographically distinct areas.</li>
<li>Strategies for delivery of biofortified crops must be tailored to the local context for each crop&ndash;nutrient pair.</li>
<li>Biofortification needs to identify more cost-effective delivery strategies in order to offer an alternative to supplementation and commercial fortification.</li>
<li>Increasing Maternal Health Literacy, ending societal discrimination faced by women and adolescent girls, making healthcare and proper sanitation accessible will also help in eradicating malnutrition.</li>
<li>The government should facilitate public-private partnerships. Private sector engagement can leverage technological solutions for scaling up food fortification initiatives, and complement the government&rsquo;s outreach efforts through mass awareness and education campaigns in communities.</li>
<li>The lack of nutrition is not only a denial of a fundamental human right, but it is also poor economics. Biofortification is a partial solution, which must go hand in hand with efforts to reduce poverty, food insecurity, disease, poor sanitation, social and gender inequality.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Government Measures</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) by Women and Child Development Ministry which provides a package of six services namely supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition &amp; health education, immunization, health check-up <g class="gr_ gr_113 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="113" data-gr-id="113">and</g> referral services.</li>
<li>National Health Mission (NHM), Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Schemes for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) namely SABLA, Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) for <g class="gr_ gr_112 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="112" data-gr-id="112">direct</g> targeted interventions.</li>
<li>Under National Health Mission of Ministry of Health &amp; Family Welfare, the remedial steps taken are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Promotion of appropriate infant and young child feeding practices that include early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding till 6 months of age and appropriate complementary feeding after 6 months of age.</li>
<li>Management of malnutrition and common neonatal and childhood illnesses at community and facility level by training service providers in IMCI (Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses) training.</li>
<li>Treatment of children with severe acute malnutrition at special units called the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs), set up at public health facilities. Presently 875 such <g class="gr_ gr_116 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="116" data-gr-id="116">centres</g> are functional all over the country.</li>
<li>Specific program to prevent and combat micronutrient deficiencies of Vitamin A and Iron &amp; Folic Acid (IFA) in under-five children, children of 5 to 10 years of age, and adolescents.</li>
<li>Village Health and Nutrition Days and Mother and Child Protection Card are the joint initiatives of the Ministries of Health &amp; Family Welfare and the Ministry of Woman and Child for addressing the nutrition concerns in children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Kishori Shakti Yojana aimed at breaking the intergenerational life-cycle of nutritional and gender disadvantage and providing a supportive environment for self-development.</li>
<li>The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has rolled out the Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Program in 2012-13 to meet the challenge of high prevalence and incidence of Iron Deficiency Anemia among adolescent girls and boys.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/an-innovative-method-for-boosting-nutrition'
		],
		(int) 8 => [
			'title' => 'The Petroglyphs of Ratnagiri',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Different sites with petroglyphs in Ratnagiri and Rajapur districts have been found over the last two or three years.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The way the petroglyphs have been drawn, and their similarity to those found in other parts of the world, have led experts to believe that they were created in prehistoric times and are possibly among the oldest ever discovered.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Petroglyph</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A petroglyph is usually a prehistoric carving in a rock. Prehistory refers to the period of time before civilization and writing. There are only archeological sources available for prehistoric period which includes stone and bone tools, rock arts etc.</li>
<li>The term rock art includes pictographs (paintings on rocks) and petroglyphs which are carved into the flat, open rock surface gives them a scale and look that is unique.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Features of these Petroglyphs</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The working theory around these petroglyphs is that they date back to about 10,000 BCE, placing them in the Mesolithic Period, which comes between the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic period, characterised by chipped stone tools, and the New Stone Age or Neolithic period, associated with smaller, more polished tools.</li>
<li>The variety of the rock carvings are stunning as animals, birds, human figures and geometrical designs are all depicted.</li>
<li>The images appear to have been created by hunter-gatherer communities as they depict hunted animals and detailing of animal forms.</li>
<li>Prominent petroglyph and rock art sites in India that could be contemporary to this period are the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh, rock carvings in Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, petroglyphs from the Tindivanam and Villupuram districts in Tamil Nadu and Unakoti in Tripura.</li>
<li>The carvings on laterite stone make the petroglyphs in Ratnagiri region unique, as the carvings discovered in other sites around India are on granite and sandstone.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the medieval age, the Konkan coast was lined with important port towns. It has been reconstructed from epigraphs and contemporaneous records that it has a history of trade and contact with Europe, and even with the Roman Empire. But there was a big void regarding what went on here in prehistoric times. The findings of these petroglyphs can fill a huge gap in the history of the Konkan region.</li>
<li>Petroglyphs in Ratnagiri region are not yet the evidence of a civilisation, as there is no evidence of writing, agricultural or economic activity, or of living arrangements or settlements which are the essential attributes of a civilization.</li>
<li>In Maharashtra&rsquo;s cultural records, there is no evidence of any art being practised until about 3,000 BCE, which is when the first mention of painted pots and clay figurines are found. That&rsquo;s why these petroglyphs are a significant find for a better understanding of the history of this region and its artistic traditions.</li>
<li>Some of the carvings depict rhinoceroses and hippos, two species that were never thought to be prevalent in this part of India. This carvings, however, suggest that the Konkan may have once been a lot like the rainforests where these animals are typically found.</li>
<li>Most of the art from the later medieval period is religious in nature it is quite likely that such a significant investment in art points to some form of religious belief or religious system.</li>
<li>Some of the more complex reliefs, etched deep into the ground, may have been done using metal tools rather than stone. If his theory is proven right, then as in sites like Bhimbetka, where art has been dated from prehistoric times right down to the medieval period could point to a continuous habitation of this region, across millennia, possibly by various nomadic tribes.</li>
<li>The discovery of these sites marks the commencement of a long project as there's still need to look for more evidence of stone tools and evidence of settlements around these sites so that more accurate dating can be obtained.</li>
<li>Maharashtra tourism department has shown interest in developing some of these sites and incorporating them into the tourist circuit of a region that attracts lot of travellers, drawn to it by the beaches and temples.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/the-petroglyphs-of-ratnagiri'
		],
		(int) 9 => [
			'title' => 'The Anatomy Of Banking Frauds',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><strong><em>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;The anatomy of banking frauds&rdquo; which appeared in Livemint on 19th October 2018. It analyses the nature of banking frauds.</em>)</strong></p>
</div>
<p>In the present-day economic system, banks play a very important role in the economic development of the country. Nowadays, banks have diversified their activities and are getting into new schemes and services that create opportunities for financial inclusion. As the banking sector is flourishing, it is getting plagued by some operational problems such as frauds etc</p>
<p>Financial Stability Report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows, that the Indian banking system reported about 6,500 instances of fraud involving over ₹30,000 crore in 2017-18.</p>
<p>Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) <g class="gr_ gr_75 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="75" data-gr-id="75">analysed</g> the top 100 banking frauds in different sectors and has also suggested some measures that will help avoid such unethical activities in the future.</p>
<p>Banking frauds attracted national attention when the Punjab National Bank reported earlier this year that it had been defrauded by companies related to jeweler Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. Several other cases of large banking frauds were reported subsequently, which raised questions about the ability of banks to contain them.</p>
<p>Here are some of the biggest scams that disturbed the country's banking system:</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 2011, investigative agency CBI revealed that executives of certain banks such as the Bank of Maharashtra, Oriental Bank of Commerce and IDBI created almost 10,000 fictitious accounts, and <g class="gr_ gr_78 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="78" data-gr-id="78">an amount</g> of Rs 1,500 crore worth loans were transferred.</li>
<li>Another scam that was unfolded in 2014 was the bribe-for-loan scam involving ex-chairman and MD of Syndicate Bank SK Jain for involvement in sanctioning Rs Rs 8,000 crore.</li>
<li>In 2014, Vijay Mallya was also declared a willful defaulter by Union Bank of India, following which other banks such as SBI and PNB followed suit.</li>
<li>In 2015, another fraud that raised eyebrows involved employees of Jain Infraprojects, who defrauded Central Bank of India to the tune of over Rs 2,000 crore.</li>
<li>One of the biggest banking frauds of 2016 is the one involving Syndicate Bank, where almost 380 accounts were opened by four people, who defrauded the bank of Rs 10 billion using fake cheques, Letter of Undertakings (<g class="gr_ gr_68 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="68" data-gr-id="68">LoUs</g>) and LIC policies.</li>
<li>The fresh bank fraud to the tune of Rs 11,450 crore involving diamond merchant Nirav Modi. It has come to light that the company, in connivance with retired employees of PNB, got at least 150 <g class="gr_ gr_69 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="69" data-gr-id="69">LoUs</g>, allowing Nirav Modi Group to defraud the bank and many other banks who gave loans to him.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>The reason behind these frauds</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Most frauds show that banks did not observe due diligence, both before and after disbursing loans.</li>
<li>Poor level of checks and balances in the banking system is also one of the reason.</li>
<li>Lack of technology and fraud monitoring agencies to detect frauds makes the problem more complex.</li>
<li>There is an absence of an effective mechanism to monitor the credit flow.</li>
<li>Flawed risk-mitigation design, which creates an excessive focus on credit or market risks, but focuses less on operational risks also leading to more breaches.</li>
<li>Excessive dependence on manual supervision, at both external and internal levels makes it impossible to manually control and supervise the sheer volume of transactions.</li>
<li>The disintegrating moral <g class="gr_ gr_90 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="90" data-gr-id="90">fibre</g> of Indian businessmen, bankers and other white-collar professionals, nepotism in internal committees of banks, unnecessary political interventions lead to increased frauds.</li>
<li>The political pulls and pressures on investigating agencies, and long-drawn processes of legal system act less as a deterrent.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is important that banks should take help of technology to detect frauds and improve the sharing of information.</li>
<li>Law enforcement agencies should work in such a way that they don&rsquo;t end up creating an environment of fear, affecting the flow of credit to productive sectors.</li>
<li>Apart from improving capabilities in the banking system, accountability of third-party service providers such as auditors and lawyers should also be fixed.</li>
<li>Assessment of working capital limit should be done before the flow of credit.</li>
<li>Awareness should be created about loopholes, consequences of bypassing procedural aspects and benchmarks should be provided for evaluating genuineness of various essential documents.</li>
<li>The investigation should be done to find out the trail of diversion of funds and whether any money has been remitted abroad.</li>
<li>The Banks should pay the required attention to the area of internal control system and the fraud prevention measures to ensure compliance of instructions issued by them<br />from time to time.</li>
<li>The status of the borrower should be more critically <g class="gr_ gr_77 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="77" data-gr-id="77">analysed</g> by credit rating agencies to put a check on bad debts.</li>
<li>The bank should set up centralized loan processing hubs which will help in streamlining the selection of borrowers with enhanced due diligence, assessment of proposal etc,<br />thus delinking the sanction process from the branch heads.</li>
</ul>
<p>Indian banks need significant improvements in operation and governance standards to work in an effective manner, by constantly working on the loopholes so that the banking sector can contribute more to the growth of the economy.</p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/the-anatomy-of-banking-frauds'
		],
		(int) 10 => [
			'title' => 'IARI Breeds Nutrient-Rich Hybrid Maize',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) scientists have bred world&rsquo;s first quality protein and pro-vitamin A-rich bio-fortified hybrid maize.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Maize, the third most important foodgrain following wheat and rice, is grown throughout the year in India. Popularly known as corn, it is used to make food items such as chips, flakes, popcorns etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Nutrient-Rich Hybrid Maize</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Cereal grains are high in carbohydrates (65-75%) and low in protein (7-12%) and their proteins are deficient in essential amino acids such as lysine and tryptophan.</li>
<li>Lysine and tryptophan are two essential amino acids- building blocks of protein- which cannot be synthesized by body and must be supplied to body via diet.</li>
<li><strong>Hybrid maize Pusa Vivek QPM 9</strong> Improved is claimed to be the world&rsquo;s first ever rich in lysine and tryptophan as well as pro-vitamin A.</li>
<li>Vitamin A, a micronutrient, is required for good vision, healthy teeth, skin and skeletal tissue. Deficiency of Vitamin A, predominantly seen in developing countries, can cause blindness and increase the susceptibility of an individual to infectious diseases.</li>
<li>Although, vitamin A rich maize has been developed elsewhere, the new variety is important as it is rich not only in vitamin A but also in two essential amino acids as well.</li>
<li>The improved version incorporates an Opaque-2 gene that enhances lysine and tryptophan content, and another gene crtRB1, which results in higher levels of carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin) that convert into vitamin A in the body. Normal maize has more of lutein and zeaxanthin, which are carotenoids that cannot convert into vitamin A.</li>
<li>The bio-fortified hybrid is not genetically modified, as both the Opaque-2 and crtRB1 genes are obtained from maize lines and not any alien/unrelated plants or microorganisms.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It can be a game changer in countering hidden hunger which stems from mineral and vitamin deficiencies, often caused by a lack of diversity in the diet.</li>
<li>It has potential to improve the nutritional status of a large population covering the children suffering from malnutrition which can enhance India&rsquo;s ranking in Global Hunger Index (GHI) which is currently in dismal state (India ranked 103 out of 119 countries in the GHI 2018).</li>
<li>The early maturity of the hybrid maize makes it suitable for hilly and relatively water-stressed regions like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra etc.</li>
<li>It can also be used by animal feed makers, who currently buy synthetic lysine as the grain itself has quality protein and pro-vitamin A. The poultry and pigs will, then, have more body weight gain and better feed conversion ratio.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Indian agricultural Research Institute (IARI), popularly known as Pusa Institute, began in 1905 at Pusa (Bihar) with the generous grant from an American philanthropist, Mr. Henry Phipps.</li>
<li>Following a devastating earthquake in 1934, the institute was shifted to Delhi on 29th July 1936.Post independence, the institute has been renamed as Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).</li>
<li>The green revolution that brought smiles to millions of Indians bloomed from the fields of IARI with the development of famous wheat varieties which contributed to massive production.</li>
<li>IARI continues to be the leading institution for agricultural research, education and extension in the country.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/iari-breeds-nutrient-rich-hybrid-maize'
		],
		(int) 11 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (18th October 2018)',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Kamikaze Drone</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>At its Raising Day function in Manesar, the National Security Guard (NSG) showcased recently acquired unmanned aerial vehicles which also includes Kamikaze Drones.</li>
<li>A Kamikaze drone is also known by names such as a suicide drone or a loitering munition. A loitering munition is a type of unmanned aerial vehicle designed to engage beyond line-of-sight ground targets with an explosive warhead.</li>
<li>It is an unmanned aerial vehicle that is designed <g class="gr_ gr_76 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="76" data-gr-id="76">toself</g>-<g class="gr_ gr_77 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="77" data-gr-id="77">destructt</g> after serving its purpose.</li>
<li>It can be effective in room intervention during counter-terrorism operations - a drone breaking in and exploding will involve a lower risk of the casualty than jawans entering physically.</li>
<li>Kamikaze Drone is built indigenously by an Indian company Vortex UAS.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle-DSRV</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Indian Navy successfully executed the trials of the newly-inducted rescue vehicle which will now help conduct a rescue mission to bring back personnel from a disabled submarine.</li>
<li>Apart from rescue missions, they can also be deployed for various other missions like laying cables on the sea bed.</li>
<li>The DSRV is operated by a crew of three, and can rescue 14 personnel from a disabled submarine at one time.</li>
<li>DSRVs are transportable by truck, aircraft, ship, or by specially configured attack submarine. It dives, conducts a sonar search, and attaches to the disabled submarine&rsquo;s hatch.</li>
<li>India has joined a select group of countries that have the capability to locate and rescue "distressed submarines". At present, the US, China, Russia and a few other countries have the capabilities to deploy DSRVs.</li>
<li>The second DSRV is expected to be inducted at Visakhapatnam in 2019. It has been built by James Fisher &amp; Sons, a United Kingdom company.</li>
<li>The induction of the DSRV is part of Indian Navy&rsquo;s efforts to enhance operational capabilities when China has been ramping up its maritime presence in critical sea lanes which are of strategic importance to India.</li>
</ul>
<h3>World&rsquo;s Largest Unmanned Transport Drone</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>China successfully tested the world&rsquo;s largest unmanned transport drone which can carry a payload of 1.5 tonnes.</li>
<li>Feihong-98 (FH-98) was adapted from the prototype of the Shifei Y5B, a China-developed transport plane which has been widely used for over 60 years.</li>
<li>As China&rsquo;s first fully domestically-built transport aircraft, the Shifei Y5B has a history of over 60 years since its first flight in 1957 and has been widely used.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-18th-october-2018-'
		],
		(int) 12 => [
			'title' => 'A Flawed Defence Procurement Policy',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><em><strong>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;A flawed </strong></em><g class="gr_ gr_142 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="142" data-gr-id="142">defence</g><em><strong> procurement policy&rdquo; which appeared in LiveMint on 18th October 2018. It analyses the defence procurement policy of India.)</strong></em></p>
</div>
<p>Post-independence defence procurement in India was heavily influenced by an ideological preference for public sector and high dependence on a single foreign exporter (the USSR). Technology transfer was limited, domestic capacity was often confined to integration of systems under licensing. But, after the end of the Cold War and especially after the Economic Liberalization of India (1991), the expansion of diplomatic and military relations with multiple countries led to complex multi-vendor negotiations for defence products. Focus also gradually shifted to increasing domestic quality and capacity building and (with foreign partners) for joint research, development and co-production.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><g class="gr_ gr_161 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="161" data-gr-id="161">Defence</g> procurement has always been a messy business in India. Some of the famous scams are listed as follows:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tatra trucks scam: These trucks are manufactured in the Czech Republic. Since 1986, the Indian Army has bought over 7,000 Tatra trucks. According to the <g class="gr_ gr_162 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="162" data-gr-id="162">defence</g> procurement guidelines, all purchases should be made from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). But BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Limited) had been <g class="gr_ gr_89 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="89" data-gr-id="89">flouting</g> the guidelines and had made purchases from a middleman in London.</li>
<li>Scorpene Submarine scam: The Scorpene deal scam was a bribery scandal, in which USD 175 million (Rupees 1,100 crores) were alleged to have been paid to government decision makers by Thales (-is a French multinational company that designs and builds electrical systems and provides services for the aerospace, <g class="gr_ gr_124 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="124" data-gr-id="124">defence</g>, transportation and security markets; headquarters are in Paris). Scorpene submarines are now being built in India under a technology transfer agreement that was part of that contract.</li>
<li>AgustaWestland chopper scam: Controversy over the contract came to light, with <g class="gr_ gr_139 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="139" data-gr-id="139">arrest</g> of Giuseppe Orsi, the CEO of Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland's parent company by Italian authorities as they found him guilty of bribery<g class="gr_ gr_140 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="140" data-gr-id="140">.Defence</g> Ministry had allegedly tweaked technical requirements to enable Finmeccanica to bid for the deal with its AW101 helicopter. Rs 375 crore was allegedly paid as bribery to the middlemen in the deal.</li>
<li>Coffin scam: After the Kargil war of 1999, there were allegations of corruption in the purchase of coffins by the then BJP-led Government. The government had incurred a heavy loss of 1,87,000 USD in the entire transaction.</li>
<li>Bofors scam: Bofors (Bofors AB is a Swedish arms manufacturer) paid kickbacks to people from a number of countries including top Swedish, and Indian politicians and key <g class="gr_ gr_101 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="101" data-gr-id="101">defence</g> officials to seal <g class="gr_ gr_102 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="102" data-gr-id="102">defence</g> procurement deals.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Current Issue</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Rafale controversy once again calls for the introspection of <g class="gr_ gr_136 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="136" data-gr-id="136">underlying</g> problem in the country&rsquo;s Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). It is time for an analysis of whether the DPP is transparent in decision making.</li>
<li>The Opposition is intensely raising questions over the financial terms of the agreement and alleging crony capitalism while the government is rejecting all the accusations. The Opposition is also claiming that there is no transparency in the deal with Reliance <g class="gr_ gr_115 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="115" data-gr-id="115">Defence,</g> and that the company will be a key financial beneficiary at the expense of the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Union Government released Defence Procurement Procedure in the year 2016, which replaced the Defence Procurement Policy of 2013.</li>
<li>This was based on the recommendations of Dhirendra Singh committee which was appointed for the review of DPP 2013.</li>
<li>The DPP 2016 was streamlined with a focus on indigenously designed, developed and manufactured weapon systems.</li>
<li>It also added an additional category &ldquo;Buy (Indian-IDDM)&rdquo; i.e Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured, as the most preferred way of <g class="gr_ gr_120 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="120" data-gr-id="120">defence</g> goods acquisition. Outright purchase of equipment and procurements under this scheme are categorized as Buy (Indian- IDDM).</li>
<li>This category refers to the procurement from an Indian vendor of either <g class="gr_ gr_91 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="91" data-gr-id="91">products</g> that have been indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with a minimum of 40% indigenous content or products having 60% of it on a cost basis but not designed and developed indigenously.</li>
<li>The policy has also significantly <g class="gr_ gr_100 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="100" data-gr-id="100">liberalised</g> the offset liability for foreign vendors, which makes it compulsory for companies to invest, or source, at least 30% of the contract value in India.</li>
<li>While offset was compulsory for all contracts more than 300 <g class="gr_ gr_97 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="97" data-gr-id="97">crore</g> earlier, the minimum contract value has now been increased to 2000 crores.</li>
<li>Capital acquisition scheme was classified into 3 main categories:</li>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Buy and Make scheme: Here the procurements are categorized as Buy and Make, and Buy and Make (Indian).</li>
<li>Make scheme: For developing <g class="gr_ gr_88 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="88" data-gr-id="88">long term</g> <g class="gr_ gr_134 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="134" data-gr-id="134">defence</g> capabilities. (Make II procedure amended the original Make procedure in DPP 2016 for enabling greater participation of industry.)</li>
<li>Buy scheme: Direct purchase of equipment and procurements under this scheme are categorized as Buy (Indian- IDDM), Buy(Global).</li>
</ul>
<li>This DPP allowed the Defence Acquisition Council to take a "fast-track" route to acquire weapons, something which was limited to only the armed forces till now.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Flaws in DPP 2016</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Offset requirements under the DPP are not helping it achieve its goal. (Offsets are a portion of a contracted price with a foreign supplier that must be re-invested in the Indian <g class="gr_ gr_146 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="146" data-gr-id="146">defence</g> sector, or against which the government can purchase technology.)</li>
<li>Besides, the recent Rafale controversy is the symptom of a larger underlying problem in decision-making, transparency <g class="gr_ gr_145 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="145" data-gr-id="145">and</g> consistency of public policy.</li>
<li>The DPP even seems to indicate that the foreign supplier has complete discretion on <g class="gr_ gr_109 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="109" data-gr-id="109">choice</g> of the Indian offset partner (IOP). <g class="gr_ gr_87 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="87" data-gr-id="87">If</g> assumed it to be true, it would result in a moral hazard at the outset and, by extension, would permit the Indian government to avoid public procurement rules when taxpayer money is routed through a foreign supplier towards &ldquo;offsets&rdquo;.</li>
<li>While the procurement policy recognizes the need for domestic private partnership, it does not mandate a fair and diverse procurement process for offsets. Given the large contract values involved, this makes it likely that foreign suppliers will partner with just one or two large industrial groups to discharge their offset obligations.</li>
<li>Lack of transparency in procurement contracts is another big drawback.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under Indian law, government procurement is treated as <g class="gr_ gr_104 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="104" data-gr-id="104">distribution</g> of largesse by the state and, hence, must be fair, transparent and equitable&mdash;there can be no <g class="gr_ gr_105 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="105" data-gr-id="105">favouritism</g> or nepotism in the award of public contracts.</li>
<li>Regulations that restrict foreign investments in the <g class="gr_ gr_99 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="99" data-gr-id="99">defence</g> sector also require a dose of reform.</li>
<li>In the interest of fairness, foreign suppliers should be free to invest in India, yet at the same time, offset investments/procurement must be subject to safeguards along the lines of those that govern public <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">procurement,</g> because after all, they are expending public funds.</li>
<li>Without substantive reforms in the DPP, there are likely to be more controversies, and perceptions and accusations of crony capitalism</li>
</ul>
<h3>What&rsquo;s next?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>With the year-old Defence Procurement Policy not working as expected, the Government of India is planning to come up with a new policy soon. The Government has announced in the General Budget 2018-19, that it will bring out an <g class="gr_ gr_86 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="86" data-gr-id="86">industry friendly</g> Defence Production Policy 2018 to promote domestic production by public sector, <g class="gr_ gr_112 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="112" data-gr-id="112">private</g> sector <g class="gr_ gr_113 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="113" data-gr-id="113">and</g> MSMEs.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/a-flawed-defence-procurement-policy'
		],
		(int) 13 => [
			'title' => 'Rural Development Ministry Conducts Survey under Mission Antyodaya',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The Rural Development Ministry has done a gap analysis of more than 3.5 lakh villages, in more than 1.6 lakh panchayats under the Mission Antyodaya convergence scheme.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Gap analysis involves the comparison of actual performance with potential or desired performance.</li>
<li><strong>Kuligod in Karnataka&rsquo;s Belagavi district</strong> is the country&rsquo;s best developed village, but more than a third of the gram panchayats ranked in the top 10 are in Andhra Pradesh.</li>
<li>In October 2017, an initial baseline survey was carried out in 50,000 gram panchayats, in 2018, the exercise is expected to cover all of the country&rsquo;s 2.5 lakh panchayats by the end of November. The rankings will be updated as more panchayats are included.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Survey Analysis</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A team of officials surveyed and scored village level facilities and amenities using parameters related to infrastructure, economic development and livelihood, irrigation facilities, health, nutrition and sanitation, women&rsquo;s empowerment, and financial inclusion.</li>
<li>About a quarter of all villages have more than 75% of households using clean energy, such as LPG or biogas which should be further increased in alignment with the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.</li>
<li>More than 73% of the villages are connected with an all-weather road which needs to be speeded up as Government has brought forward the target date by three years from 2022 to 2019 to achieve complete rural connectivity through all-weather roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.</li>
<li>The survey indicates moderate progress in the rural housing scheme as less than 10% of the villages have more than 80% of their houses with kachha walls and roofs, indicating temporary structures.</li>
<li>Financial inclusion which is the most vital link for village empowerment still has long way to go, with less than 15% of villages having banks, while just more than 10% have ATMs.</li>
<li>At the national level, the data shows progress in some areas and also spotlights discrepancies in respect of targets met under some other government schemes.</li>
<li>For example, the survey reveals that more than 95% of villages have electricity available for domestic use, while the government had earlier this year claimed that 100% of villages had power connections.</li>
<li>Similarly with regard to sanitation, the survey shows only 58% of villages, slightly more than 2 lakh of the 3.5 lakh surveyed villages are open defecation free (ODF). However, according to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan-Gramin, about 5 lakh out of India&rsquo;s 6 lakh villages are already ODF.</li>
</ul>
<p>The survey result is significant for the outcomes achieved from various schemes but since it shows the gap between the claimed achievements and outcomes, it should be taken up seriously by the Government to remove the discrepancies in the targets met.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Mission Antyodaya</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Mission Antyodaya is a mission mode project envisaged by the Ministry of Rural Development. It is a convergence framework for measurable effective outcomes on parameters that transform lives and livelihoods.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Significance of Mission Antyodaya</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In India, 8.88 crore households are found to be deprived and poor households as per Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) of 2011 from the perspective of multi-dimensional deprivations such as shelterlessness, landlessness, households headed by single women, SC/ST household or disabled member in the family.</li>
<li>These households require targeted interventions under government&rsquo;s various schemes and programmes in areas such as wage creation, skill generation, social security, education, health, nutrition and livelihood creation.In this context, &lsquo;Mission Antyodaya&rsquo; seeks to converge government interventions with Gram Panchayats as the basic unit for planning by pooling resources - human and financial - to ensure sustainable livelihoods.</li>
<li>It facilitates identification of gaps in a quest for poverty free gram panchayats and drive economic activities.</li>
<li>Since this scheme is expected to encompass schemes from ministries of health, education, employment and social security (insurance schemes under financial services), the recipient can access varied benefits under one umbrella.</li>
<li>The transmission due to such a convergence is likely to be high and could also enable extensive coverage. This can go a long way in helping the government achieve its aim of reaching the poorest of the poor and the disenfranchised.</li>
<li>The convergence of multiple schemes under a single scheme could enable the government to migrate all these to the digital Aadhar-enabled platform thereby contributing further to the Digital India mission aims.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/rural-development-ministry-conducts-survey-under-mission-antyodaya'
		],
		(int) 14 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (17th October 2018)',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Oldest Evidence of Animal Life Found</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Researchers have found the oldest clue of animal life in rocks from Oman, Siberia, and India.</li>
<li>Research suggested that<strong> sea sponges emerged as early as 660 million years ago</strong>, during the Neoproterozoic Era (660-635 million years ago), which is at least 100 million years before the Cambrian Explosion.</li>
<li>In ancient rocks and oils,<strong> researchers found a steroid compound produced only by sponges, which are among the earliest forms of animal life.</strong></li>
<li><strong>The &ldquo;Cambrian Explosion&rdquo; refers to the sudden appearance in the fossil record of complex animals with mineralized skeletal remains 541 million years ago.</strong></li>
<li>The biomarker identified by scientists is a steroid compound named 26-methyl stigmastane (26-mes).</li>
<li>It has a unique structure that is currently only known to be synthesized by certain species of modern sponges called demosponges.</li>
<li>In September 2018, an international team of researchers claimed to have discovered the world&rsquo;s oldest fossil&mdash;creature known as<strong> Dickinsonia</strong>, which first appeared around 571 million to 541 million years ago.</li>
<li>Current fossil evidence dates back around 100 million years from <strong>Dickinsonia</strong>.</li>
<li>Neither study provides traditional fossil evidence such as fossils containing the outlines of bones or soft tissue. Rather, these studies highlight the chemical traces left behind by ancient creatures.</li>
<li>In the case of Dickinsonia, it was fat molecules; in the case of sea sponges, it&rsquo;s a steroid compound known as a sterane</li>
<li><strong>This finding could help scientists better understand the interaction of geology and biology that triggered the evolution of complex life on Earth.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Charles Darwin proposed the existence of an evolutionary starting point and a primordial organism from which all modern life descended. This organism is termed as LUCA (Last universal common ancestor). Any fossil evidence of LUCA is yet to be discovered.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Kolkata GPO marks 150 years</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently Kolkata&rsquo;s General Post Office (GPO) completed its 150 years. The Heritage building with Corinthian columns was opened to the public on October 2, 1868.</li>
<li>It is not only an iconic building of the city but also the biggest working post office of the Kolkata Circle.</li>
<li>An extension of the postal museum, housed in the building has been inaugurated. The museum displayed an exhibition of illustrations depicting postmen carrying letters.</li>
<li>Other exhibits in the museum include badges used by postmen, weighing machines and the first postage stamps, printed at the Survey of India office in 1854 and a Post Office Map of provinces of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa and Arracan dating back to 1854.</li>
<li>It is still a matter of speculation whether the Old Fort, where the<strong> GPO stands today is the site of the &ldquo;Black Hole Tragedy&rdquo; of 1756.</strong> Researchers of the Archaeological Survey of India are working to ascertain whether this is a site of the alleged incident.</li>
<li><strong>According to historians, the &ldquo;Black Hole Tragedy&rdquo; refers to the time when several English prisoners died as a result of incarceration in a cramped prison by Nawab of Bengal Siraj Ud-Daulah after he attacked Calcutta.&nbsp;</strong></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<h3>From Bihar to Assam via Bangladesh</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently the cargo ship carrying fly ash on the pilot basis from Bihar reached its destination in Guwahati. This has rekindled hope for an inland waterway transport system that had virtually ended with Partition in 1947.</li>
<li>This has been one of the biggest voyages in recent history covering 2,085 km from Kahalgaon in Bihar to Pandu in Guwahati.</li>
<li>This voyage has demonstrated that the inland waterways, both National Waterway 1, or Ganga, and National Waterway 2, that is the Brahmaputra, are technically feasible for transportation of cargo ships of 1,500-2,000 tonnes through India-Bangladesh Protocol route.</li>
<li>The voyage of the ships marked one of the longest hauls in the inland water sector movement in the country.</li>
<li>Around Independence, Assam&rsquo;s per capita income was very high owing to access of its tea, timber, coal and oil industries to seaports via the Brahmaputra and Barak river systems. The scenario changed after the river routes were cut off and rail and road through the Chicken&rsquo;s Neck (a narrow strip in West Bengal), became costlier alternatives.</li>
</ul>
<h3>NASA&rsquo;s Chandra X-ray Observatory</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>NASA&rsquo;s Chandra X-ray Observatory went into safe mode after a gyroscope problem. During safe mode, spacecraft&rsquo;s instruments are all turned off and only the most fundamental systems are kept on.</li>
<li>Gyroscopes help spacecraft maintain proper orientation.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Chandra X- Ray Observatory</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Launched: July 23, 1999</li>
<li>Goal: Detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes.</li>
<li>Chandra is part of NASA's Great Observatories Program, which launched four powerful space telescopes from 1990 to 2003:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Hubble Space Telescope in 1990</li>
<li>The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) in 1991</li>
<li>The Spitzer Space Telescope in 2003</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>CGRO was intentionally deorbited in 2000 after a gyroscope failure.</li>
<li>Chandra is active well beyond the original design lifetime of 5 years. In 2001, NASA extended its lifetime to 10 years. It is now into its extended mission.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>World Food Day</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Every year, World Food Day is celebrated on October 16 to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of United Nations in the year 1945.</li>
<li>This year&rsquo;s theme is &lsquo;Zero Hunger&rsquo; which means working together to ensure everyone, everywhere, has access to the safe, healthy and nutritious food they need. To achieve it, we must adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, work with others, share our knowledge and be willing to help change the world &ndash; for the better.</li>
<li>The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-2) also aims to &ldquo;End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture&rdquo; by 2030.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Roshni- Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana &ndash; National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and Lady Irwin College have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishing ROSHNI &ndash; Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action.</li>
<li>ROSHNI is technically and financially supported by UNICEF India serving as a technical support unit at national level for DAY-NRLM and is embedded in the Department of Development Communication and Extension, Lady Irwin College, New Delhi.</li>
<li>Roshni aims to work with women collectives for social action on Food, Health, Nutrition and WASH (FHNW) interventions in alignment with DAY-NRLM.</li>
<li>Roshni will incorporate learnings from Swabhimaan and similar models, and extend support to DAY-NRLM for expanding the scope of FHNW interventions.</li>
<li>The Centre will lead knowledge creation, capacity building for scale-up of convergent action plan, learning and re- learning in Swabhimaan sites and provide policy guidance to DAY-NRLM on POSHAN Abhiyan initiatives.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Swabhimaan is initiative of the Union Government and the Indian Banks&rsquo; Association to bridge economic gap between rural and urban India. This campaign is a step towards socio-economic equality by bringing the underprivileged segments of Indian population into the formal banking fold.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-17th-october-2018'
		],
		(int) 15 => [
			'title' => 'Has The SC Missed A Chance To Keep Criminals Out Of Polls',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><em><strong>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;Has the SC missed a chance to keep criminals out of polls&rdquo; which appeared in The Hindu on 12th October 2018. It analyses the Supreme Court&rsquo;s judgement on criminalisation of politics)</strong></em></p>
</div>
<p>In the Public Interest Foundation and ors vs. Union of India judgment, the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that it is the responsibility of the parliament to frame a law to prevent criminalization of politics.<img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/331corruption.jpg" width="382" height="356" style="float: right; margin: 20px;" caption="false" /></p>
<p>According to Article 102(1) of the Constitution, Parliament is obliged to make a law on the matter. The Supreme Court has rejected the inclination to disqualify candidates facing serious criminal charges from contesting elections. It ruled that mere framing of charges cannot be a basis of disqualification of the candidate.</p>
<p>The court observed that cleansing politics from criminal elements begins with purifying political parties itself, as they are the central institution of India&rsquo;s democracy. <strong>The Supreme court&rsquo;s order created the ground for debate, whether the order is in line with the principles of natural justice or is a verdict of disappointment in keeping criminals out of polls.</strong></p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The past three Lok Sabhas have seen an increasing number of legislators with criminal background &mdash; 128 in 2004, 162 in 2009 and 184 in 2014.</li>
<li>The Election Commission (EC), tried to obtain help from the government, political parties and the apex court in ending corrupt influences on legislatures.</li>
<li>The Election Commission has moved to Supreme Court in appeal against a decision of the Delhi High Court to set aside the disqualification of a MP in Madhya Pradesh.</li>
<li>The EC proposal to bar candidates accused of an offence punishable with at least five years of imprisonment from contesting elections, after charges are framed against them by a court, has been opposed by many parties.</li>
<li>The court&rsquo;s recent verdict passed on the responsibility to the EC itself.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Landmark decisions in decriminalising politics</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 2002, the Supreme Court, in Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) v. Union of India, mandated the disclosure of information relating to criminal antecedents, educational qualification, and personal assets of a candidate contesting elections.</li>
<li>Supreme Court in Lily Thomas v. Union of India (2013) case, struck down as unconstitutional Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act that allowed convicted lawmakers a three-month period for filing appeal to the higher court and to get a stay on the conviction and sentence.</li>
<li>In People&rsquo;s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India (2013), the SC recognised negative voting as a constitutional right of a voter and directed the Government to provide the &lsquo;NOTA&rsquo; option in electronic voting machines.</li>
<li>In Public Interest Foundation and Ors. v Union of India (2014) based on recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 244th report, the SC had ordered that trials, in relation to sitting MPs and MLAs be concluded within a year of charges against them being framed.</li>
<li>Recently, SC directed the Government to set up special courts to exclusively conduct time-bound trials of politicians accused of corruption and criminality.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision on information disclosure (Lok Prahari v. Union of India) paves a way for future constitutional interventions in India&rsquo;s political party funding regime, including the scheme of electoral bonds.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Argument against Supreme Court&rsquo;s verdict</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The apex court has instructed political parties to put on their respective websites information on candidates having criminal antecedents. But accessibility remains as an issue for most of the population.</li>
<li>Both the candidate and the political party are required to publicise the information. But political parties will not go against their interest and they will not publish the real information.</li>
<li>Election Commission is asked to publicise the candidates&rsquo; background. The EC already displays these details, given in the candidates&rsquo; affidavits, on its website. The only difference this time is that these details are to be given in bold. Any more advertising by the EC will create problems, like inviting allegations of subjectivity, bias and partiality.</li>
<li>Political parties appear to be competing to field criminal candidates, as their &lsquo;winnability&rsquo; is proven to be more. Verdict will indirectly support this tradition.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Argument supporting Supreme Court&rsquo;s verdict</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The court ruled that any move to disqualify candidates charged with crimes (as opposed to those convicted) would require an amendment to the Representation of the People Act. That is the domain of the legislature and thus, it is Parliament that should take action.</li>
<li>In terms of natural justice, disqualifying persons from contesting elections at the stage of framing of charges is a blatant violation of due process.</li>
<li>It can easily lead to abuse, with politicians filing false cases in order to disqualify their opponents.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Inherent <strong>structural issues need to be addressed</strong> by allowing candidates and parties to raise and spend money legally and transparently.</li>
<li><strong>State funding of election</strong> could also help in controlling the flow of unaccounted money and muscle power during elections.</li>
<li>Providing power to registered voters in a constituency to <strong>recall elected representatives</strong> from the house on grounds of non performance can create awareness at grassroot level.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>It is not the job of the judiciary to formulate legislation.</strong> Parliament should act in the direction to decriminalise politics. <strong>If Parliament does not act, there are two ways to keep potential criminals out of the electoral arena: political parties can choose to not give tickets to aspirants charged with heinous crimes; and voters can reject such candidates at the polls.</strong></p>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/557image2.png" width="718" height="432" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/has-the-sc-missed-a-chance-to-keep-criminals-out-of-polls'
		],
		(int) 16 => [
			'title' => 'RBI Allows Interoperability Among Mobile Wallets',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released guidelines to facilitate payments among different mobile wallets, a move aimed at promoting digital transactions.</p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The government has taken several steps to discourage people from using cash and persuade them to switch to digital transactions. Mobile wallets have shown a huge potential to drive the government's agenda.</li>
<li>So far, the wallets operate in semi-closed loops and cannot interconnect with each other. For eg. Money from Paytm can&rsquo;t be transferred to MobiKwik.</li>
<li>As per the road-map laid down in 2017, interoperability of all KYC-compliant Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) was to be enabled in three phases -
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>interoperability of PPIs issued in the form of wallets through Unified Payments Interface (UPI),</li>
<li>interoperability between wallets and bank accounts through UPI, and</li>
<li>interoperability for PPIs issued in the form of cards through card networks.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued consolidated guidelines for enabling all phases in order to prepare better for implementation of interoperability.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Interoperability</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Interoperability is the technical compatibility that enables a payment system to be used in conjunction with other payment systems.</li>
<li>Interoperability allows PPI issuers, system providers and system participants in different systems to undertake, clear and settle payment transactions across systems without participating in multiple systems.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Implications</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Now interoperability between PPIs such as wallets and cards will effectively allow users of popular payment wallets such as Paytm, Freecharge, Mobikwik, PhonePe and PayZapp, among others, to transfer money from one wallet to another.</li>
<li>Further, wallets can implement interoperability through the Unified Payment Interface (UPI).</li>
<li>The RBI also allowed PPIs to issue cards using authorised card networks such as Mastercard, Visa or Rupay.</li>
<li>The biggest beneficiaries of interoperability will be the wallet users, who will not have to specifically look for merchants who accept a certain wallet. With interoperability, they can make payments from a wallet to any merchant who accepts digital payments. <strong>This will bring wallets on par with cards</strong>, a symbolic transition with all transactions being accepted at all networks.</li>
<li>This is progressive move for non-bank players and huge foundations to reach under-banked and unbanked with equally powerful payment product in league of debit/credit cards.</li>
<li>Different companies, which are otherwise competing with each other for a larger share of the business, will end up sharing resources, and can focus on creating a more distinct value added platform.</li>
<li>While boosting the e-wallet segment, new guidelines would also ensure the safety and accuracy of the transfer of money by individuals from one wallet to another.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Unified Payments Interface (UPI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>UPI is a single-window mobile payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The interface is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).</li>
<li>It is a payments system launched by the National Payments Corporation of India in August 2016. It facilitates instant fund transfer between two bank accounts on the mobile platform, without having to provide any detail of the beneficiary&rsquo;s bank account.</li>
<li>It is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing &amp; merchant payments into one hood.</li>
<li>The system is said to be a safe and secure method of transferring money between two parties, and cuts out the need to transact with physical cash or through a bank.</li>
<li>It also caters to the &ldquo;Peer to Peer&rdquo; collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
</div>',
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		(int) 17 => [
			'title' => 'Annapurna Devi of Hindustani Music Passes Away',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Annapurna Devi, prominent artist of classical <strong>Hindustani music</strong>, recently passed away at the age of 92.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>She was the iconic and famously reclusive surbahar (bass sitar) player.</li>
<li>She was the daughter of Maihar gharana founder Ustad Allauddin Khan.</li>
<li>She was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Hindustani Music</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Hindustani classical music is an Indian classical music tradition. It originated in North India around 13th and 14th centuries.</li>
<li>In contrast to Carnatic music, the other main Indian classical music tradition from South India, the Hindustani classical music was not only influenced by ancient Hindu musical traditions and Vedic philosophy but also by the Persian elements.</li>
<li>Hindustani music is based on the raga system. The Raga is a melodic scale, comprising of notes from the basic seven- Sa, Re, Ga, Ma Pa, Dha and Ni.</li>
<li>There is a rich tradition of Gharanas in classical Hindustani music. The music Gharanas are also called styles. These schools or Gharanas have their basis in the traditional mode of musical training and education. Every Gharana has its own distinct features. Popular gharanas are: Gwalior gharana, Agra Gharana, Indore Gharana, Jaipur Gharana.</li>
<li>Hindustani classical music is primarily vocal-centric. The major vocal forms associated with Hindustani music are the khayal, Ghazal, dhrupad, dhammar, tarana and thumri.</li>
<li><strong>Dhrupad</strong> style of singing is traditionally performed by men with a tanpura and pakhawaj. The lyrics sung in Dhrupad are in a medieval form of Hindi and typically heroic in theme, or in praise of a particular deity.</li>
<li><strong>Khayal</strong> consists of about 4-8 lines of lyrics set to a tune. The performer uses these few lines as the base for improvisation.</li>
<li><strong>Tarana</strong> are songs that are used to convey a feel of joy and are usually performed towards the end of a concert.</li>
<li><strong>Thumri</strong> is an informal vocal form of Hindustani classical music and is said to have begun with the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the Nawab of Oudh.</li>
<li>Originally, a Persian form of vocal music, <strong>Ghazal</strong> is an important part of Hindustani Classical music. Ghazal exists in multiple variations, including folk and pop forms.The themes of Ghazals range from love, joy and piety.</li>
</ul>',
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		(int) 18 => [
			'title' => 'UN Report on FDI',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>India attracted USD 22 billion of FDI flows in the first half of 2018, according to a UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report-&nbsp;<strong>&lsquo;Investment Trends Monitor&rsquo;.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The report highlighted that said that in South Asia, India's FDI inflows contributed to the subregion&rsquo;s 13% rise in FDI in the first half of the year.</li>
<li>The report also&nbsp;states that the global foreign direct investment dropped by 41% in the same period due to tax reforms carried out by the US administration. These reforms have encouraged big firms in the US to bring back earnings from abroad, specially from Western European countries.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The decline in FDI is happening mainly in wealthy, industrialized nations, especially in North America and Western Europe.&nbsp;&nbsp;The developing economies saw FDI flows declining &ldquo;only slightly&rdquo; in the first half of the year by 4%, compared with 2017.</li>
<li>Other factors that have led to this decline are&nbsp;uncertainty about the detail and impact of tax reform and the potential impact of unresolved international trade disputes; such as the tit-for-tat tariffs imposed by the United States and China.</li>
<li>
<p>In contrast to the overall decline in foreign investment, the report highlights a 42% increase in&nbsp; &ldquo;greenfield&rdquo; projects. These initiatives can involve building operations in a foreign country from scratch and they are seen an indicator of future trends.</p>
</li>
<li>China was the largest recipient of FDI, attracting an estimated $ 70 billion in inflows in the first half of the year, followed by the UK with $ 65.5 billion, the US with $ 46.5 billion.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>United Nations Conference on Trade and Development</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental body established in 1964.</li>
<li>It promotes development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy.</li>
<li>Headquarters - Geneva, Switzerland</li>
<li>Some of the reports published by it are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Trade and Development Report</li>
<li>World Investment Report</li>
<li>The Least Developed Countries Report</li>
<li>Information and Economy Report</li>
<li>Technology and Innovation Report</li>
<li>Commodities and Development Report</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In its flagship report titled, <strong>Trade and Development Report (TDR 2018)</strong> released in September, 2018 UNCTAD has strongly advocated the need for developing countries to address issues of data sovereignty and design national policies to ensure equitable distribution of gains arising from data which is generated within the national boundaries.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Foreign Direct Investment</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country.</li>
<li>The key feature of foreign direct investment is that it establishes either effective control of, or at least substantial influence over, the decision-making of a foreign business.</li>
<li>This makes it different from portfolio investments in which an investor merely purchases equities of foreign-based companies.</li>
<li>Foreign Direct Investment is important because it gives countries access to external capital, technology, market access and tax contributions.</li>
<li>
<p>Foreign direct investments are commonly categorized as being horizontal, vertical or conglomerate.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>
<p>A <strong>horizontal direct investment</strong> refers to the investor establishing the same type of business operation in a foreign country as it operates in its home country.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>A <strong>vertical investment</strong> is one in which different but related business activities from the investor's main business are established or acquired in a foreign country, such as when a manufacturing company acquires an interest in a foreign company that supplies parts or raw materials required for the manufacturing company to make its products.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>A <strong>conglomerate type</strong> of foreign direct investment is one where a company or individual makes a foreign investment in a business that is unrelated to its existing business in its home country. Since this type of investment involves entering an industry the investor has no previous experience in, it often takes the form of a joint venture with a foreign company already operating in the industry.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
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		(int) 19 => [
			'title' => 'How Can India Overcome The Zero Hunger Challenge',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;How can India overcome the zero hunger challenge&rdquo; which appeared in Livemint on 16<sup>th</sup> October 2018. It analyses the challenges and opportunities for achieving zero hunger challenge in India.)</p>
</div>
<p>Hunger is a subjective concept, it&rsquo;s definition varies from person to person depending upon perception and understanding of requirements and objectives of life, availability of resources, socioeconomic and cultural perspectives.</p>
<p>Hunger exists when a person&lsquo;s body lacks required nutrients to grow and develop a productive, active and healthy life. The term hunger includes malnutrition, famine, starvation and appetite as well.</p>
<p>Hunger also denotes the scarcity of food in a country. And in India, hunger is one of the crucial problems. Though it is always assumed that hunger stems from lack of food, it is not completely true as hunger can stem from food mismanagement and wastage as well.</p>
<p>For example, while India produces enough food to feed its population, the country is also home to 25 percent of the world&rsquo;s hungry population. <strong>India ranked 103 among 119 countries in the Global Hunger Index (2018) rankings</strong>. The country&rsquo;s economic growth and the changing demographics are also transforming patterns of food demand. <strong>Therefore a holistic approach to food security requires ensuring available, accessible and nutritious food to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in India.</strong></p>
<h3>What is Zero Hunger Challenge ?</h3>
<p>It is a mission which aims at bringing together all stakeholders to communicate the importance of food security, nutrition and inclusive, sustainable and resilient agriculture and to make the world free from hunger, malnutrition and rural poverty. <strong>The Zero Hunger Challenge is guided by a set of core principles that are grounded in the Charter of the United Nations and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Goal 2 of Sustainable Development Goals:</strong> End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture aims at ending hunger as stated. The Zero Hunger Challenge was launched by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2012 at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil in June 2012.</p>
<h3>Causes and Issues Related to Food Scarcity in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s food basket differs from region to region, which makes it difficult to fulfill the needs of population of every region through domestic production only.</strong></li>
<li>Secondly, inadequate warehousing facilities and cold storages is leading to wastage of about 7% of total annual food production and almost 30% of the fruits and vegetables.</li>
<li>According to the estimation of National Centre for Cold-chain Development (NCCD) the country has only 15% of the required temperature-control transportation facilities and less than 1% of warehouse facilities dedicated for transporting pre-conditioned agricultural produce.</li>
<li>Moreover, lack of large scale commercial farms and low levels of land consolidation among small farm holders leads to mismanagement in agri production. This has also further aggravated the cycle of rural poverty which in turn has created a poverty situation in the country where small farmers have a reduced capacity to produce food, as most of them cannot afford seeds, fertilizers and modern technologies like pump-irrigation, harvester machines, tractors etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Food security and pollution</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that food wastage accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.</strong></li>
<li>The problem of food waste is intensified because of the lack of regulation around industry standards and policies. Increased attraction to stock discounted products also leads to food wastage which further serves as reason for food shortage.</li>
<li>Man made causes such as increased deposits of industrial effluent, unscientific farming and flow of chemical fertilizer into water bodies led to water pollution. Land degradation due to increased human activities has impacted negatively on agricultural production.</li>
<li>In effect, natural disasters such as floods, tropical storms and prolonged droughts are on the increase and they create devastating impacts on food security particularly in developing countries.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is a growing need for the design and development of more efficient integrated systems of food production, processing, preservation and distribution that can feed the changing food requirements of the nation.</li>
<li>Systems of cold chains which are integrated with agriculture markets should be developed to reduce post-harvest losses and to allow farmers to earn more by tapping into remunerative markets, while maintaining the quality of their produce.</li>
<li>Resilient transportation infrastructure should be established to allow transportation of food from food surplus to food deficit areas.</li>
<li>Activities such as upgradation of rural infrastructure, training of farmers in post-harvest practices to minimize losses, integrating small scale enterprises into value chains, organizing smallholder farmers into farmer producer organizations, customized financial services, investment in agricultural research, and last-mile marketing channels should also come into action.</li>
<li>It also important to ensure social equity, gender inclusiveness and making agriculture less labour intensive and gender friendly to improve production.</li>
<li>Private companies should invest to bring out potential solutions to minimise food wastage. <strong>A report by the Boston Consulting Group estimates that solving the problem of food loss and wastage is a $700 billion opportunity for private companies.</strong> Companies are also better positioned as they have the ability to influence consumer behaviour.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For example, the retail chain Tesco has started the &lsquo;Buy one get one free&mdash;later&rsquo; programme wherein customers can buy certain food items and take the free product later when they actually need it.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>General public awareness around the issue of food wastage should be made through various medias.</li>
<li>The government, on its part should make laws that penalize companies for wasting food within their supply chain and encourage repurposing and recycling of food items.</li>
<li>For example, since 2016, France has been fining grocery stores for throwing away edible food. <em><strong>'Disposing is cheaper than using or reusing' attitude should be changed gradually.</strong></em></li>
<li>The farmer known as the first participant of the economy, has to be supported to achieve the highest production and productivity and must be ensured a larger share of profit along the value chain.</li>
<li>The current one-way movement of raw materials (from farmers) and a one-way movement of finished goods (to farmers) must be transformed into a two-way movement of commerce.</li>
<li>Communication and cooperation between farmers is also needed as it will ensure no single crop is overproduced.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Global Hunger Index</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels.</li>
<li>It is calculated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in Washington, D.C.</li>
<li>The scores are calculated annually, considering undernutrition, child wasting, child stunting, child mortality as indicators.</li>
</ul>
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		'title' => 'Arrest The Exodus In Gujarat',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><strong>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;Arrest the exodus in Gujarat&rdquo; which appeared in The Hindu on 10th October 2018. It analyses the problem of migrants in India.)</strong></p>
</div>
<p>Migrant workers are indispensable to the Indian economy. Migrants play a vital role in greasing the wheels of growth in states, including states like Gujarat, by providing cheap <g class="gr_ gr_158 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="158" data-gr-id="158">labour</g> in the many small and medium enterprises in the manufacturing and construction sectors. The mobility of <g class="gr_ gr_159 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="159" data-gr-id="159">labour</g> pushes the economy forward.<strong> Economic Survey (2016-17)</strong> covers a whole chapter on migration. According to it, annually inter-state labor mobility averaged 5-6 million people between 2001 and 2011, yielding an inter-state migrant population of about 60 million and an inter-district migration as high as 80 million.</p>
<p>Recently thousands of migrants fled north Gujarat&rsquo;s industrial areas following violence triggered by the rape of a 14-year-old in Sabarkantha district by one such migrant worker. Many industries got affected, such as auto-ancillaries, pharma, ceramics, cotton ginning, fertilizers and chemicals, and construction, in regions around Sanand, Sabarkantha, Patan, and Aravali. No industrial economy, more so Gujarat which depends heavily on migrant workers, can thrive in an atmosphere of fear and insecurity. The situation has now cooled off a bit after State government interference in &ldquo;confidence-building&rdquo; steps.</p>
<h3>Why Do People Migrate?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The agricultural base of rural areas does not provide employment to all the people living there. Regional development disparity compels people to migrate from rural to urban areas.</li>
<li>Lack of educational facilities, especially those of higher education influences the rural people to migrate to urban centers for this purpose.</li>
<li>Political disturbances and inter-ethnic conflicts drive people away from their homes. For example, a large number of people has migrated out of Jammu and Kashmir and Assam during the last few years due to disturbed conditions there.</li>
<li>Poverty and lack of employment opportunity drive people to move from one place to one another.</li>
<li>People also migrate on a short-term basis in search of better medical facilities, for availing better tertiary health and financial services.</li>
<li>Some of the other push factors such as lack of food, climate change, religious oppression, civil wars lead to internal migration.</li>
<li>Pull factors which include peace and safety, a chance of a better standard of living in general as well as political and religious freedom also encourage people to move from one place to another.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues Related With Migrants</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Political Issues</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Migrants lack political agency vis-a-vis the local government machinery. As the political class ignores migrant workers because they don&rsquo;t count as votes, especially in the case of inter-state migrants.</li>
<li>Due to their mobile nature, they don&rsquo;t find any place in the manifestos of trade unions.</li>
<li>Lack of proper documents makes them vulnerable to harassment by the police and other local authorities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Socio-cultural issues</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Lakhs of unskilled and migrant workers live on worksites in makeshift huts (usually made of tin sheets) or on roads, slums and in illegal settlements not served by municipalities.</li>
<li>They are neither able to save much to improve their conditions back in their home States nor save enough to live comfortably in a place where they work.</li>
<li>Cultural differences, language barriers, isolation from the society, lack of accessibility for quality education in mother tongue are some of the other issues faced.</li>
<li>Very few migrants are aware of their entitlements, legal and economic. Similarly, citizens who are in the majority remain apathetic to the plight of victims.</li>
<li>Because of limiting job opportunities migrants are becoming victims of resentment, as people of the state see them as encroachers of present jobs.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Economic issues</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Seasonal migrants dominate the low-paying, hazardous and informal market jobs which are key sectors in urban destinations, such as construction, hotel, textile, manufacturing, transportation, services, domestic work etc.</li>
<li>They have poor access to health services, which results in very poor occupational health. Since they cannot afford private hospitals, they often go back to their villages once they fall sick. This affects their employment opportunities, as well as the loss of wages.</li>
<li>A large number of migrants find work as unskilled <g class="gr_ gr_146 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="146" data-gr-id="146">labourers</g> since they enter the job market at a very early age, experience no upward mobility and remain stuck in the most unskilled, poorly paid and hazardous jobs for their whole work-life span.</li>
<li>In an unorganized and chaotic <g class="gr_ gr_143 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="143" data-gr-id="143">labour</g> market, migrant workers regularly face conflicts and disputes at worksites.</li>
<li>The common issues they face are non-payment of wages, physical abuse, and accidents.</li>
<li>Many informal sector disputes never make their way to <g class="gr_ gr_150 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="150" data-gr-id="150">labour</g> courts or keep languishing in courts for lack of proof. The existing legal machinery is not sensitive to the nature of legal disputes in the unorganized sector.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>If the migrant workforce in the state is forced to leave, industries will lose their competitiveness as there will be a significant rise in <g class="gr_ gr_134 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="134" data-gr-id="134">labour</g> costs.</li>
<li>The State must follow a more holistic policy of creating incentives for firms leading to greater employment, instead of merely dictating higher recruitment of locals.</li>
<li>Enforcement of <g class="gr_ gr_136 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="136" data-gr-id="136">labour</g> laws and enactment of a comprehensive law should be done at the workplaces, stricter enforcement of existing <g class="gr_ gr_138 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="138" data-gr-id="138">labour</g> laws, including the Interstate Migrant Workmen Act, is essential.</li>
<li>Segmenting the <g class="gr_ gr_137 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="137" data-gr-id="137">labour</g> market and creating a separate <g class="gr_ gr_139 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="139" data-gr-id="139">labour</g> market for migrant workers with <g class="gr_ gr_133 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="133" data-gr-id="133">security</g> of tenure should be developed across India.</li>
<li>Identity cards can be issued by governments to make them avail essential basic facilities.</li>
<li>There should be <g class="gr_ gr_130 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="130" data-gr-id="130">development</g> in small and medium industries such as village and cottage industries, handlooms, handicrafts <g class="gr_ gr_129 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="129" data-gr-id="129">and</g> food processing and agro-industries to reduce rural-urban migration.</li>
<li>The focus should be on ensuring basic entitlements and social security. A major policy focus has to be on ensuring that migrant households have citizenship rights in the destination areas and are able to access basic facilities, benefits of public programmes, and social security schemes meant for poor households.</li>
<li>Special policy focus should be made under the Right to Education (RTE) Act to ensure educational access of migrant <g class="gr_ gr_127 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="127" data-gr-id="127">labourers</g>. Skill development should also be a priority to include them in organized sectors.</li>
<li>Information base and bargaining strength of migrant workers should be improved to protect them from vulnerability.</li>
<li>Panchayats should emerge as the focus of the resource pool for migrant workers residing in their area. They should maintain a register of migrant workers and issue identity cards and passbooks to them.</li>
<li>Making the migrant workers aware of their rights is the first thing to do by authorities.</li>
<li>Diversity and free interaction between various groups make states and the country economically, socially and culturally stronger. According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, &ldquo;An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts.&rdquo;</li>
<li>The challenges are still complex and the lack of recognition for migrants is still to be fully addressed. Unless we view migrant workers as a dynamic part of a changing India, we will not be able to solve the problem of migrant workers.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Laws in support of migrant workers</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service)Act (1979)</li>
<li>Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (1986)</li>
<li>Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act (1996)</li>
<li>Unorganized Workers Social Security Act (2008)</li>
<li>Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act (1970)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Constitutional provisions</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of movement for all citizens. The foundational principles of free migration are enshrined in clauses (d) and (e) of Article 19(1) of the Constitution, which guarantee all citizens the right to move freely throughout the territory of <g class="gr_ gr_141 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="141" data-gr-id="141">India,</g> and reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.</li>
<li>Article 15 prohibits discrimination on the basis of place of birth, among other grounds.</li>
<li>While Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment, and in particular prohibits the denial of access to public employment on the grounds of place of birth or residence.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision in Charu Khurana v. Union of India and Others case clearly renders restrictions based on residence for the purposes of employment unconstitutional.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/arrest-the-exodus-in-gujarat'
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'title' => 'NASA Named New Constellations',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>NASA has named 21 set of new Gamma Ray Constellations.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>NASA has named them after fictional characters like Doctor who, Hulk, Colosseum,&nbsp;Schr&ouml;dinger's cat, Eiffel Tower, and Godzilla.</li>
<li>The constellations were constructed with sources visible through its Fermi-Gamma Ray Space Telescope.</li>
<li>These unofficial constellations were developed to celebrate the completion of 10 years of operations of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly called the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is a space observatory being used to perform gamma-ray astronomy observations from low Earth orbit.</li>
<li>Fermi was launched on June 11, 2008. It is named after Enrico Fermi, an Italian-American scientist who did pioneering work in high-energy physics.</li>
<li>Fermi maps the entire sky every three hours, Fermi provides an important window into the most extreme phenomena of the universe, like gamma-ray bursts, black-hole jets, and pulsars.</li>
<li>Fermi is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, along with important contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Gamma Rays</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The highest-energy light in the universe.</li>
<li>Gamma rays can have over a billion times the energy of the type of light visible to our eyes.</li>
<li>They are produced by the hottest and most energetic objects in the universe, such as neutron stars and pulsars, supernova explosions, and regions around black holes.</li>
<li>On Earth, gamma rays are generated by nuclear explosions, lightning, and the less dramatic activity of radioactive decay.</li>
<li>Gamma-ray astronomy is the astronomical observation of gamma rays with photon energies above 100 keV(Kilo Electron Volt).</li>
<li>Gamma rays are so energetic that they are harmful to life on Earth.</li>
<li>Earth's atmosphere absorbs gamma rays, preventing them from affecting life on the ground.</li>
<li>Astronomical observations of gamma-ray sources are therefore done with high-altitude balloons or satellites, above the protective blanket of Earth's atmosphere.</li>
<li>The gamma rays possess high energy they can pass right through any lens or mirror, making it very difficult to focus them in a visible-light telescope.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Pulsars are types of neutron stars which emit radio pulses at regular intervals.</li>
<li>Neutron Star is the dead relics of massive stars.</li>
<li>An electronvolt is a unit of energy close to that of visible light.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nasa-named-new-constellations'
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'title' => 'Insolvency Law Committee Report',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The ILC has submitted its <strong>2<sup>nd</sup> Report to the Government, which deals with cross-border insolvency</strong>.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Insolvency Law Committee (ILC) was constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to recommend amendments to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India, 2016.</li>
<li>The necessity of having such Framework under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code arises from the fact that many Indian companies have a global footprint and many foreign companies have the presence in multiple countries including India.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Committee Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The ILC has recommended the adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, 1997, as it provides for a comprehensive framework to deal with cross-border insolvency issues.</li>
<li>The Committee has also recommended a few measures to ensure that there is no inconsistency between the domestic insolvency framework and the proposed Cross-Border Insolvency Framework.</li>
<li><strong>UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, 1997</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The model law is designed to assist States to equip their insolvency laws with a modern legal framework to more effectively address cross-border insolvency proceedings concerning debtors experiencing severe financial distress or insolvency.</li>
<li>The model law deals with four major principles of cross-border insolvency:
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Access</strong>:&nbsp;direct access to foreign insolvency professionals and foreign creditors to participate in or commence domestic insolvency proceedings against a defaulting debtor</li>
<li><strong>Recognition</strong>: recognition of foreign proceedings &amp; provision of remedies</li>
<li><strong>Cooperation</strong>: cooperation between domestic and foreign courts &amp; domestic and foreign insolvency practitioners</li>
<li><strong>Coordination</strong>: coordination between two or more concurrent insolvency proceedings in different countries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The UNCITRAL Model Law forms part of international best practices in dealing with cross-border insolvency issues and has been adopted in 44 countries including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<h3>UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The United Nations Commission on International Trade and Law is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law.</li>
<li><strong>Membership</strong>: The Commission comprises 60 member States elected by the United Nations General Assembly for a term of six years.</li>
<li>India is currently a member of UNCITRAL and will serve till 2022.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Key advantages of adopting the Model Law</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Increasing foreign investment:</strong> there will be significant positive signaling to global investors, creditors, governments, international organizations such as the World Bank as well as multinational corporations with regard to the robustness of India's financial sector reforms.</li>
<li><strong>Flexibility:</strong> The Model Law is designed to be flexible and to respect the differences amongst national insolvency laws.</li>
<li><strong>Protection of domestic interest:</strong> The Model Law enables refusal of recognition of foreign proceedings or provision of any other assistance if such action contradicts domestic public policy. Hence, it provides protection to the public interest.</li>
<li><strong>Priority to domestic proceedings:</strong> The Model Law gives precedence to domestic insolvency proceedings in relation to foreign proceedings. For example, a moratorium due to the recognition of a foreign proceeding will not prevent the commencement of domestic insolvency proceedings.</li>
<li><strong>Mechanism for cooperation:</strong> The Model Law incorporates a robust mechanism for cooperation and coordination between courts and insolvency professionals, in foreign jurisdictions and domestically. This would facilitate faster and effective conduct of concurrent proceedings.</li>
<li><strong>Global Standards:</strong> The inclusion of the Cross-Border Insolvency Chapter in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India, 2016, will be a major step forward and will bring Indian Insolvency Law on a par with that of matured jurisdictions.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<h3>Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Code creates a framework for resolving insolvency in India.</li>
<li>The Code will apply to companies, partnerships, limited liability partnerships,<br />individuals and any other body specified by the Central Government.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Salient Features</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Insolvency professionals and agencies:</strong> The resolution process will be conducted by a licensed insolvency professional (IP). The IP will control the assets of the debtor during the process. Insolvency professional agencies will be created to regulate these IPs. The agencies will conduct examinations to enroll IPs and enforce a code of conduct for their functioning.</li>
<li><strong>Information utilities:</strong> The Code establishes multiple information utilities to collect, collate and disseminate financial information related to a debtor. This will include a record of debt and liabilities of the debtor.</li>
<li><strong>Insolvency regulator:</strong> The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India will be established as a regulator to oversee the functioning of IPs, insolvency professional agencies and information utilities. The Board will have 10 members, including representatives from the Central Government and the Reserve Bank of India.</li>
<li><strong>Adjudicatory authorities:</strong> The Code proposes two tribunals to adjudicate insolvency resolution cases: The National Company Law Tribunal will adjudicate cases for companies and limited liability partnerships. The Debt Recovery Tribunal will adjudicate cases for individuals and partnership firms.</li>
<li><strong>Insolvency and Bankruptcy Fund:</strong> The Code creates an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Fund. The Fund will receive voluntary contributions from any person. In case of insolvency proceedings being initiated against the contributor, he will be allowed to withdraw his contribution for making payments to workmen, protecting his assets, etc.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/Insolvency Law Committee Report'
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'title' => 'India’s Failure To Address Its Urban Slum Problem',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><strong>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;India&rsquo;s failure to address its urban slum problem&rdquo; which appeared in Livemint on 23rd October 2018. It analyses the problem of hidden hunger in India.)</strong></p>
</div>
<h3>What are Slums?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Slums are illegal urban settlements on public land and usually grow over a period of time in a constant and irregular manner. Despite this fact. Slums are considered as an integral part of urbanization and as a manifestation of the overall socioeconomic policies and planning in the urban sector. The existence and rapid growth of slums have been noted as a general urban phenomena common prevalent throughout the globe.</li>
<li>According to the United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, a slum is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and poverty and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the proportion of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the developing world between 1990 and 2005. However, due to rising population, the number of slum dwellers is rising day by day.</li>
<li>Slums may also be described as &ldquo;a chaotically occupied, unsystematically developed and generally neglected area, which is overpopulated by persons and overcrowded with ill-repaired and neglected structures" (Indian Conference, 1957). They have emerged out of the urban development process and are unplanned, unintended settlements ignored in the whole process of urban development.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/567Dharavi_India.jpg" width="725" height="407" /></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Asia's largest slum,<strong> Dharavi,</strong> lies on prime property right in the middle of Mumbai (Neza, in Mexico, is the world&rsquo;s largest slum).</li>
<li>Half-a-million people or so, live in the 230 hectares that <g class="gr_ gr_125 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace gr-progress" id="125" data-gr-id="125">is</g> Dharavi.</li>
<li>It was founded in 1882 at the time of British Raj. During the 18th century, unplanned localities started to grow when the process of urbanization of Mumbai was going on.</li>
<li>Recently, the Maharashtra government signed an initiative: A special purpose vehicle with 80% private and 20% government stake to redevelop Dharavi as a whole rather than in separate sub-clusters as previously envisioned.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Reasons for growing slums</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Population explosion and poverty <g class="gr_ gr_148 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="148" data-gr-id="148">force</g> the urban poor to live in slums and that leads to an increase in the size of slums. Also, a regional imbalance in development creates rural to urban migration, thus increasing the overall urban population density which pressurizes the urban poor to move into slums.</li>
<li>In the past 15 years, India&rsquo;s urban population density has increased by 45%. It is further estimated that 40% of the population will live in urban areas by 2026. With increasingly densified urban population, there exists a huge demand for land. This shortage of land forces the urban poor to live in increasingly dense communities creating slums in the process.</li>
<li>Rising material costs and labor costs resulting from labor shortage is another reason for the growth of slums as it makes developers unable to deliver affordable housing to the market.</li>
<li>Also, delayed procedures for land development forces people to stay in congested areas which further leads to <g class="gr_ gr_123 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="123" data-gr-id="123">creation</g> of slums.</li>
<li>A lack of efficiency of urban local bodies coupled with unplanned city management is also one of the major reasons for <g class="gr_ gr_120 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="120" data-gr-id="120">creation</g> of slum areas.</li>
<li>Moreover, social backwardness forces people to live in congested areas away from main areas. For example, more Scheduled Castes (SCs) live in slums - with one out of every five residents belonging to the SC category.</li>
<li>A lack of political will for developing slums can also be seen, as slums provide cheap and steady <g class="gr_ gr_118 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="118" data-gr-id="118">labour</g> (party-workers) to political parties.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues arising from neglecting slum development</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Slums act as a magnet for the rural poor by attracting them towards city life. This it does by partially blinding them from the hardships that accompany life in the city.</li>
<li>People living in slum areas are also prone to suffer from waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera, as well as from more fatal ones like cancer and HIV/AIDS.</li>
<li>Also, women and children living in slums are prone to become victims of social evils like prostitution, beggary and child trafficking. Slum dwellers in general and regardless of gender, often become victims of such social evils.</li>
<li>Slum areas are also commonly believed to be places that generate a high incidence of crime. This is due to official neglect towards education, law and order, and government services in slum areas.</li>
<li>Then, the majority of slum dwellers in a developing country earn their living from the informal sector which neither provides them with financial security nor with enough earnings for a decent living, keeping them firmly within the vicious cycle of poverty.</li>
<li>Lastly, hunger, malnourishment, lack of quality education, high infant mortality, child marriage, child <g class="gr_ gr_117 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="117" data-gr-id="117">labour</g> are some of the other social problems prevalent in slums.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Poverty is the most significant reason behind the creation of slums. So, the issue of poverty must be addressed first by policymakers.</li>
<li>There is also a need for future policies to support the livelihoods of the urban poor by enabling urban informal-sector activities to flourish and develop. Slum policies should be integrated within broader, people-focused urban poverty reduction policies that address the various dimensions of poverty.</li>
<li>Easy geographical access to jobs through pro-poor transport should also be created.</li>
<li>Adequate data should be gathered by conducting various studies before the formulation of any policy.</li>
<li>There is also a need for investment in citywide infrastructure as a pre-condition for successful and affordable slum upgrading, which could also act as one strong mechanism for reversing the socio-economic exclusion of slum dwellers.</li>
<li>Steps should be taken such that a higher and more stable income be made accessible to slum dwellers through their employment in productive jobs. This is because employment opportunities in urban <g class="gr_ gr_138 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="138" data-gr-id="138">centres</g> that pay well <g class="gr_ gr_137 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="137" data-gr-id="137">has</g> the potential to generate a healthy and sustainable lifestyle in the slums.</li>
<li>Lastly, slums should be developed because developing slums also trigger local economic development, improve urban mobility and connectivity, and integrate the slums, which are enormous economically productive spheres, into the physical and socioeconomic fabric of the wider city.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>To improve urban infrastructure, the Government has taken various steps:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Smart City Mission (to create smart cities) to focus on basic amenities, education, health services, IT accessibility, digitization, e-governance, sustainable development, safety, and security.</li>
<li>Housing for all by 2022 for constructing houses for slum dwellers under the slum-rehabilitation scheme and providing loans at subsidized rates for the economically weaker sections.</li>
<li>AMRUT: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation to build a gap between infrastructural necessity and their accessibility.</li>
<li>HRIDAY: National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana to preserve and holistically develop the heritage cities of India.</li>
<li>Swachh Bharat Mission for improving cleanliness and sanitation.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Slum development projects across the world:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Slum Improvement Program, Dhaka, Bangladesh</strong>: The Slum Improvement Programme accomplished a major breakthrough in providing a basic physical infrastructure system to the urban poor.</li>
<li><strong>Quetta Katchi Abadis Environment Management Programme in Karachi</strong> showed how community-based sanitation management in informal settlements can be successful.</li>
<li><strong>Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme:</strong> Implementation Strategy of this project outlines several programmatic principles and values such as decentralization, sustainability, democratization and empowerment, transparency and accountability, resource mobilization, secure tenure, expansion and upscaling, and partnerships and networks.</li>
<li>Integrated Approach to Reducing Poverty <strong>Mukuru Slum, Nairobi, Kenya</strong>: project was launched, with the aim of improving services in three Mukuru slums; Donholm, Centre, and Riverside which have a combined population of 67,000. They chose a particular slum pocket which was found to be vulnerable in access to sanitation and water supply facilities.</li>
<li><strong>Madhya Pradesh Urban Services</strong> for the Poor: has been initiated by DFID (The Department for International Development (DFID) India, with its headquarters in New Delhi, is part of the British High Commission family. It implements DFID&rsquo;s largest single overseas programme contributing to poverty eradication) in partnership with the Government of Madhya Pradesh (GoMP) for infrastructure development, slum development, and poverty reduction.</li>
<li><strong>Mahila Milan</strong>- A Case of Suryodaya Housing Society, Pune, Maharashtra: it has brought together 3500 women across the Pune city slums. Mahila Milan was initiated to empower women through Bachat Gats (SHGs). It works in 56 slum settlements of Pune with thrift and credit activity.</li>
<li>In situ rehabilitation of around 2800 families of <strong>Kathputli colony in Delhi</strong> is underway.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/India’s-failure-to-address-its-urban-slum-problem'
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'title' => 'Harit Diwali Swasth Diwali campaign',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The air pollution in the northern region is attributed to dust, burning of crops in certain states, burning of garbage construction and prevailing climatic conditions.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It has serious impacts on the health of children aged people and people suffering from respiratory ailments.</li>
<li>Diwali which is a festival of lights falls during the same period. As a matter of practice people have been celebrating Diwali by bursting crackers.</li>
<li>Crackers contains combustible chemicals that include potassium chlorate powdered aluminum, magnesium, salts of barium, copper, sodium, lithium, strontium etc. and emits smoke on combustion of these chemicals along with sound.</li>
<li>This smoke and sound has health impacts on children, aged people and also animal and birds. Apart from these compounds large amount of waste is also generated after bursting of crackers.</li>
<li>Keeping in view the above detrimental effects and also the importance of the festival, Ministry has initiated a <strong>&ldquo;Harit&ndash;Diwali&rdquo; campaign</strong>.</li>
<li>This campaign was initiated in 2017-18 wherein large number of school children especially from eco-clubs participated and took pledge to minimize bursting of crackers and also discouraged the neighborhood and their friends from bursting of crackers.</li>
<li>During this intensive campaign, the children were advised to celebrate Diwali in an environment-friendly manner by gifting plant sapling to their relatives and friends along with sweets.</li>
<li>The children were encouraged to light up their houses and their schools with candles and diyas. The above campaign was extremely successful and the air quality had not deteriorated post Diwali in 2017 unlike what was experienced in 2016.</li>
<li>On the above lines, the Ministry has initiated the similar campaign, but this year the campaign has been extended Pan-India. The <strong>&ldquo;Harit Diwali-Swasth Diwali&rdquo;</strong> campaign is now merged with <strong>&ldquo;Green Good Deed&rdquo; movement</strong> that has been initiated as a social mobilization for conservation and protection of environment. The Ministry encourages all schools and colleges to be part of this campaign.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Green Good Deed Movement</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Green Good Deeds, the societal movement was launched by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to protect environment and promote good living in the country.</li>
<li>It urges people to perform at least one Green Good Deed every day which includes planting trees, saving energy, conserving water, use of public transport and promoting carpool etc.</li>
<li>It has found acceptance by the global community. The BRICS Ministerial on Environment at Durban, South Africa, has agreed to include &ldquo;Green Good Deeds&rdquo; in its official agenda in the next Ministerial in Brazil.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/harit-diwali-swasth-diwali-campaign'
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'title' => 'Tiger Attacks',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently a tigress shifted to Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR) claimed another human life.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The tigress was brought from&nbsp;Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh to Odisha&rsquo;s Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR) as part of a tiger re-introduction programme.</li>
<li>The programme is being implemented by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest and its statutory body National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). It aims to shift six tigers &mdash; three males and three females.</li>
<li>In 2004, Satkosia had 11 tigers, including four adult males and six adult females. The number went down to eight in 2010 and to two in 2014.</li>
<li>
<p>Tiger conservationists say it is critical to identify and mitigate factors responsible for a decline in tiger population before trying to introduce new tigers in the area. Emphasis should be on protecting the forest, curbing illegal hunting, increasing prey numbers.</p>
</li>
<li>The recent attacks in Odisha comes in the backdrop of an ongoing intensive operation to catch or shoot tigress T1 and catch her two cubs alive in Ralegaon area of Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, where 13 people have died in tiger attacks since June 2016.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reasons for Attacks</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The depleting forest cover and growing human presence, in around 650 wildlife zones in the country. Reports by the Forest Survey of India since early 1990s indicate that around one-third of the dense forest cover has been lost and half the traditional wildlife corridors have disappeared, bringing animals and people dangerously close.</li>
<li>Densely packed tiger forests often lead to young and old tigers wandering outside. Such wandering tigers are more likely to come into conflict with people.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Many of these attacks on people are accidental. A tigress with cubs, a tiger protecting its kill, or a tiger startled by the appearance of people are prone to charge in self-defence.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Why Save Tigers?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A 2015 report of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) titled: &ldquo;Economic Evaluation of Tiger Reserves in India: A VALUE+ Approach&rdquo; highlights why &ldquo;large&rdquo; areas are reserved for preserving fierce animals like the tiger, when we need more land for human use.</li>
<li>It says that tigers are &ldquo;umbrella&rdquo; species. And by saving tigers, everything beneath their ecological umbrella - everything connected to them - including the world's last great forests, whose carbon storage mitigates climate change are saved.</li>
<li>NTCA&rsquo;s recent paper called the &ldquo;Making the Hidden Visible: Economic Valuation of Tiger Reserves in India&rdquo; lists the benefits rising from tiger reserves. They include employment generation, agriculture, fishing, fuel wood, fodder and grazing, carbon storage and sequestration, water and its purification by filtering organic wastes, soil conservation, nutrient cycling, and moderation of extreme events such as cyclone storms, flash floods.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Project Tiger</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Project Tiger is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change launched in 1973 to provide central assistance to the tiger States for tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves in India.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Killing a Man-Eater Tiger</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Conservation is about saving the species and not defending individual animals at the cost of the species. Letting a man-eater continue in the wild results in more attacks, turning locals against the Forest Department and making every tiger in the vicinity a potential target of reprisal.</li>
<li>In the era of mass media, callous handling of conflict can shape the public perception of the tiger across the land and affect every community that lives in and around tiger forests.&nbsp;&nbsp;Prompt action sends the right message to local communities.</li>
<li>Although, the 2013 Standard Operating Procedure of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) says an &ldquo;aberrant tiger&rdquo; (man-eater) must be caught and &ldquo;sent to the nearest recognised zoo and NOT released in the wild&rdquo;, the conditions and circumstances makes trapping and tranquillisation difficult.</li>
<li>Seasonal abundance of forest undergrowth may not allow clear vision or approach required for darting within a range of 15-25 metres. If live capture is not possible, the only option is to gun down the animal.</li>
<li>
<p>Moreover, it does not make a difference to conservation whether a tiger is send to a zoo or killed. In both cases, it is one tiger less in the wild.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Public outcry over a spate of human killings should neither provoke forest officials to hastily declare a tiger a man-eater nor come in the way of promptly removing an identified man-eater.</li>
<li>It is very important to find solutions that lead to mutually beneficial co-existence of animals and the local human communities.</li>
<li>Ensuring that both humans and animals have the space by protecting key areas for wildlife, creating buffer zones and investing in alternative land uses are some of the solutions.</li>
<li>
<p>Losing a handful of tigers that have become, for no fault of their own, a threat to local communities will not risk the future of the species. In fact, it will help the tiger retain local goodwill.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Likewise, fighting poor communities and the disempowered forest departments on sporadic shoot-on-sight orders will not secure the big cat&rsquo;s future as well. That time and energy may be better spent saving the tiger against the powers of mindless development.</p>
</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/tiger-attacks'
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (22nd October 2018)',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>BEPICOLOMBO: Mission to Mercury</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)</strong> sent two probes on a joint mission called BepiColombo to Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun.</li>
<li>The spacecraft is named after Italian scientist Giuseppe &ldquo;Bepi&rdquo; Colombo (1920-1984) who played an instrumental role in making NASA Mariner 10 mission (1973) to Mercury successful.</li>
<li>The spacecraft will reach the Mercury by 2025.</li>
<li>It is the first mission by the European and Japanese Space agency to Mercury.</li>
<li>It is also the first mission to send two spacecraft to make complementary measurements of the planet and its environment at the same time.</li>
<li>The spacecraft are ESA&rsquo;s Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and JAXA&rsquo;s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO, or &lsquo;Mio&rsquo;).</li>
<li>The ESA-built Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) will carry the orbiters to Mercury using a combination of solar electric propulsion and gravity assisted flybys.</li>
<li>The two orbiters will also collect data at Venus.</li>
<li>The challenges to the mission include:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Sun&rsquo;s gravity makes it difficult to place a spacecraft into a stable orbit around the mercury.</li>
<li>The spacecraft also have to face extreme temperatures and solar radiations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>With this mission researchers are hoping to learn about the formation of planets and the solar system.</li>
<li>Past Missions to Mercury:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Mariner 10</strong> - NASA Flyby Mission (Flyby is a path spacecraft follows past a planet or other body in space) to Venus and Mercury (1973)</li>
<li><strong>MESSENGER</strong> - NASA Orbiter to Mercury (2004)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Kumbh Mela</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Kumbh Mela is the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth, during which participants bathe or take a dip in a sacred river.</li>
<li><strong>Kumbh Mela comes under the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.</strong></li>
<li>The festival is held at <strong>Prayagraj&nbsp;</strong>(at the<strong> confluence of Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati</strong>), <strong>Haridwar</strong> (on the <strong>Ganges</strong>), <strong>Ujjain</strong> (on the <strong>Shipra</strong>) and <strong>Nasik</strong> (on the <strong>Godavari</strong>) every four years by rotation and is attended by millions of people irrespective of caste, creed or gender.</li>
<li>As it is held in four different cities in India, it involves different social and cultural activities, making this a culturally diverse festival.</li>
<li>The event encapsulates the science of astronomy, astrology, spirituality, ritualistic traditions, and social and cultural customs and practices, making it extremely rich in knowledge.</li>
<li>Knowledge and skills related to the tradition are transmitted through ancient religious manuscripts, oral traditions, historical travelogues and texts produced by eminent historians.</li>
<li>The teacher-student relationship of the sadhus in the ashrams and <g class="gr_ gr_67 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="67" data-gr-id="67">akhadas</g> remains the most important method of imparting and safeguarding knowledge and skills relating to Kumbh Mela.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Green Climate Fund</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A Green Climate Fund has approved more than $1 billion for 19 new projects.</li>
<li>Green Climate Fund was set up under the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention for Climate Change) at <strong>Conference of Parties (COP-16) in Cancun, Mexico 2010.</strong></li>
<li>The aim of GCF is to support developing countries in limiting or reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change impacts with resources to be generated from funding by developed countries and various public and private sources.</li>
<li><strong>National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) </strong>and <strong>Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) </strong>act as<strong> National Implementing Entity (NIE) </strong>of India for Green Climate Fund (GCF).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Similipal National Park</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Similipal National Park in <strong>Mayurbhanj district of Odisha</strong> will be reopened for tourists after remaining closed for three months due to monsoon.</li>
<li>Similipal National Park is also a Tiger Reserve. It is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserve since 2009.</li>
<li>It is part of the<strong> Similipal-Kuldiha-Hadgarh Elephant Reserve </strong>popularly known as Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve, which includes 3 protected areas i.e.<strong> Similipal Tiger Reserve, Hadgarh Wildlife sanctuary and Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary.</strong></li>
<li>Similipal National Park derives its name from the abundance of Semul or red silk cotton trees that bloom abundantly in the locality.</li>
<li>It was formally designated a tiger reserve in 1956 and brought under Project Tiger in the year of 1973. The Government of Odisha declared Similipal as a wildlife sanctuary in 1979.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-22nd-october-2018'
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'title' => 'An Innovative Method For Boosting Nutrition',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><strong>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;An innovative method for boosting nutrition&rdquo; which appeared in Livemint on 22nd October 2018. It analyses the problem of hidden hunger in India.)</strong></p>
</div>
<p>Almost every country in the world now faces a stern nutrition-related challenge, whether arising from under-nutrition or obesity. India is also striving hard to fight the problem of hidden hunger.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Hidden Hunger</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Hidden hunger is a lack of vitamins and minerals. Hidden hunger occurs when the quality of food people eat does not meet the nutrient requirements, so the food is deficient in micronutrients such as the vitamins and minerals that need for their growth and development.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Importance of Nutrition</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Essential nutrients are compounds that the body can&rsquo;t make or can&rsquo;t make in sufficient quantity. According to the World Health Organization, these nutrients must come from food, and they&rsquo;re vital for disease prevention, growth, and good health.</li>
<li>Despite this there is a decline in the percentage of the number of women and children suffering from <g class="gr_ gr_136 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="136" data-gr-id="136">anaemia</g> in the past few years, the high absolute numbers are worrying. Incidentally, <g class="gr_ gr_137 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="137" data-gr-id="137">anaemia</g> accounts for 20% of the maternal deaths that take place in the country.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Status of Nutrition in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Iron deficiency and <g class="gr_ gr_128 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="128" data-gr-id="128">anaemia</g> are well-recognized and persistent problems in India.<a href="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/597Capture.PNG" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/597Capture.PNG" style="float: right;" width="451" height="300" caption="false" /></a></li>
<li>Poor dietary habits during adolescence,(which is a period of rapid growth) leads to undernutrition.</li>
<li>A 2016 survey of around 8,000 adolescents, conducted by the Population Council in two Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, found that 55% of younger girls (10-14 years), 65% of older girls (15-19 years), 34% of younger boys, and 29% of older boys were anemic.</li>
<li>Iron deficiency is thought to be the most common cause of <g class="gr_ gr_123 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="123" data-gr-id="123">anaemia</g> globally, accounting for between 25-50% of <g class="gr_ gr_124 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="124" data-gr-id="124">anaemia</g> cases.</li>
<li>Global Nutrition Report 2017 (by World Health Organisation) also shows that India is facing a serious burden of undernutrition, that more than half the women of reproductive age in the country suffer from <g class="gr_ gr_127 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="127" data-gr-id="127">anaemia</g>.<br />Latest figures show that 38% of children under five are affected by stunting &ndash; (children too short for their age due to lack of nutrients), suffering irreversible damage to brain capacity. About 21% of children under 5 are defined as &lsquo;wasted&rsquo; or &lsquo;severely wasted&rsquo;. And 16% of adult men and 22% of adult women are overweight.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Change in nutrition practices</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>While the calorific value of the food distribution to reduce poverty and manage hunger is being taken care of by various measures, a shift can be seen in the focus on nutrition intake. It has shifted from quantity to quality. Biofortification can be one of the measures to address the problem of &lsquo;hidden hunger&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>
<h3>What is Biofortification?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Biofortification is the process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology.</li>
<li>Biofortification can be done using non-genetically-modified methods as well. Biofortification using traditional method involves crossing varieties over successive generations to eventually yield a plant with high nutrient content along with other favorable traits.</li>
<li>Examples of biofortification projects include:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Iron-biofortification of rice, beans, sweet potato, cassava, and legumes.</li>
<li>Zinc-biofortification of wheat, rice, beans, sweet potato, and maize.</li>
<li>Provitamin A carotenoid-biofortification of sweet potato, maize and cassava.</li>
<li>Amino acid and protein-biofortification of sorghum and cassava.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Importance of Biofortification</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Biofortified crops are rich in iron and have the potential to improve iron status and cognition. That helps in improving the overall health of human.</li>
<li>Biofortified crops are also often more resilient to pests, diseases, higher temperatures, drought and provide a high yield.</li>
<li>Biofortification fills an important gap as it provides a food-based, sustainable and low-dose alternative to iron supplementation. It does not require behavior change, can reach the poorest sections of the society, and supports local farmers.</li>
<li>After the initial investment to develop the biofortified seed, it can be replicated and distributed without any reduction in the micronutrient concentration. This makes it highly cost-effective and sustainable.</li>
<li>Considering the various implementation barriers faced by genetically modified crops in India, biofortification which can be done through non-genetically-modified methods as well can be a better alternative.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Challenges for Biofortification in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Lack of consumer acceptance due to color changes (e.g. golden rice) and last mile reach of fortified food remains a big challenge.</li>
<li>Adoption of farmers and cost involved in the process of fortification also poses a challenge for biofortification in India.</li>
<li>Though biofortification can be done using non-genetically-modified methods it is a slower process than genetic modification.</li>
<li>The existence of an effective seed and rural extension system for multiplication and dissemination of new varieties will also pose a challenge.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Because of the prevalence of diverse food practices in the country, biofortification will need to achieve high rates of adoption and consumption in geographically distinct areas.</li>
<li>Strategies for delivery of biofortified crops must be tailored to the local context for each crop&ndash;nutrient pair.</li>
<li>Biofortification needs to identify more cost-effective delivery strategies in order to offer an alternative to supplementation and commercial fortification.</li>
<li>Increasing Maternal Health Literacy, ending societal discrimination faced by women and adolescent girls, making healthcare and proper sanitation accessible will also help in eradicating malnutrition.</li>
<li>The government should facilitate public-private partnerships. Private sector engagement can leverage technological solutions for scaling up food fortification initiatives, and complement the government&rsquo;s outreach efforts through mass awareness and education campaigns in communities.</li>
<li>The lack of nutrition is not only a denial of a fundamental human right, but it is also poor economics. Biofortification is a partial solution, which must go hand in hand with efforts to reduce poverty, food insecurity, disease, poor sanitation, social and gender inequality.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Government Measures</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) by Women and Child Development Ministry which provides a package of six services namely supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition &amp; health education, immunization, health check-up <g class="gr_ gr_113 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="113" data-gr-id="113">and</g> referral services.</li>
<li>National Health Mission (NHM), Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Schemes for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) namely SABLA, Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) for <g class="gr_ gr_112 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="112" data-gr-id="112">direct</g> targeted interventions.</li>
<li>Under National Health Mission of Ministry of Health &amp; Family Welfare, the remedial steps taken are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Promotion of appropriate infant and young child feeding practices that include early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding till 6 months of age and appropriate complementary feeding after 6 months of age.</li>
<li>Management of malnutrition and common neonatal and childhood illnesses at community and facility level by training service providers in IMCI (Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses) training.</li>
<li>Treatment of children with severe acute malnutrition at special units called the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs), set up at public health facilities. Presently 875 such <g class="gr_ gr_116 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="116" data-gr-id="116">centres</g> are functional all over the country.</li>
<li>Specific program to prevent and combat micronutrient deficiencies of Vitamin A and Iron &amp; Folic Acid (IFA) in under-five children, children of 5 to 10 years of age, and adolescents.</li>
<li>Village Health and Nutrition Days and Mother and Child Protection Card are the joint initiatives of the Ministries of Health &amp; Family Welfare and the Ministry of Woman and Child for addressing the nutrition concerns in children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Kishori Shakti Yojana aimed at breaking the intergenerational life-cycle of nutritional and gender disadvantage and providing a supportive environment for self-development.</li>
<li>The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has rolled out the Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Program in 2012-13 to meet the challenge of high prevalence and incidence of Iron Deficiency Anemia among adolescent girls and boys.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/an-innovative-method-for-boosting-nutrition'
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'title' => 'The Petroglyphs of Ratnagiri',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Different sites with petroglyphs in Ratnagiri and Rajapur districts have been found over the last two or three years.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The way the petroglyphs have been drawn, and their similarity to those found in other parts of the world, have led experts to believe that they were created in prehistoric times and are possibly among the oldest ever discovered.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Petroglyph</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A petroglyph is usually a prehistoric carving in a rock. Prehistory refers to the period of time before civilization and writing. There are only archeological sources available for prehistoric period which includes stone and bone tools, rock arts etc.</li>
<li>The term rock art includes pictographs (paintings on rocks) and petroglyphs which are carved into the flat, open rock surface gives them a scale and look that is unique.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Features of these Petroglyphs</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The working theory around these petroglyphs is that they date back to about 10,000 BCE, placing them in the Mesolithic Period, which comes between the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic period, characterised by chipped stone tools, and the New Stone Age or Neolithic period, associated with smaller, more polished tools.</li>
<li>The variety of the rock carvings are stunning as animals, birds, human figures and geometrical designs are all depicted.</li>
<li>The images appear to have been created by hunter-gatherer communities as they depict hunted animals and detailing of animal forms.</li>
<li>Prominent petroglyph and rock art sites in India that could be contemporary to this period are the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh, rock carvings in Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, petroglyphs from the Tindivanam and Villupuram districts in Tamil Nadu and Unakoti in Tripura.</li>
<li>The carvings on laterite stone make the petroglyphs in Ratnagiri region unique, as the carvings discovered in other sites around India are on granite and sandstone.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the medieval age, the Konkan coast was lined with important port towns. It has been reconstructed from epigraphs and contemporaneous records that it has a history of trade and contact with Europe, and even with the Roman Empire. But there was a big void regarding what went on here in prehistoric times. The findings of these petroglyphs can fill a huge gap in the history of the Konkan region.</li>
<li>Petroglyphs in Ratnagiri region are not yet the evidence of a civilisation, as there is no evidence of writing, agricultural or economic activity, or of living arrangements or settlements which are the essential attributes of a civilization.</li>
<li>In Maharashtra&rsquo;s cultural records, there is no evidence of any art being practised until about 3,000 BCE, which is when the first mention of painted pots and clay figurines are found. That&rsquo;s why these petroglyphs are a significant find for a better understanding of the history of this region and its artistic traditions.</li>
<li>Some of the carvings depict rhinoceroses and hippos, two species that were never thought to be prevalent in this part of India. This carvings, however, suggest that the Konkan may have once been a lot like the rainforests where these animals are typically found.</li>
<li>Most of the art from the later medieval period is religious in nature it is quite likely that such a significant investment in art points to some form of religious belief or religious system.</li>
<li>Some of the more complex reliefs, etched deep into the ground, may have been done using metal tools rather than stone. If his theory is proven right, then as in sites like Bhimbetka, where art has been dated from prehistoric times right down to the medieval period could point to a continuous habitation of this region, across millennia, possibly by various nomadic tribes.</li>
<li>The discovery of these sites marks the commencement of a long project as there's still need to look for more evidence of stone tools and evidence of settlements around these sites so that more accurate dating can be obtained.</li>
<li>Maharashtra tourism department has shown interest in developing some of these sites and incorporating them into the tourist circuit of a region that attracts lot of travellers, drawn to it by the beaches and temples.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/the-petroglyphs-of-ratnagiri'
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'title' => 'The Anatomy Of Banking Frauds',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><strong><em>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;The anatomy of banking frauds&rdquo; which appeared in Livemint on 19th October 2018. It analyses the nature of banking frauds.</em>)</strong></p>
</div>
<p>In the present-day economic system, banks play a very important role in the economic development of the country. Nowadays, banks have diversified their activities and are getting into new schemes and services that create opportunities for financial inclusion. As the banking sector is flourishing, it is getting plagued by some operational problems such as frauds etc</p>
<p>Financial Stability Report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows, that the Indian banking system reported about 6,500 instances of fraud involving over ₹30,000 crore in 2017-18.</p>
<p>Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) <g class="gr_ gr_75 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="75" data-gr-id="75">analysed</g> the top 100 banking frauds in different sectors and has also suggested some measures that will help avoid such unethical activities in the future.</p>
<p>Banking frauds attracted national attention when the Punjab National Bank reported earlier this year that it had been defrauded by companies related to jeweler Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. Several other cases of large banking frauds were reported subsequently, which raised questions about the ability of banks to contain them.</p>
<p>Here are some of the biggest scams that disturbed the country's banking system:</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 2011, investigative agency CBI revealed that executives of certain banks such as the Bank of Maharashtra, Oriental Bank of Commerce and IDBI created almost 10,000 fictitious accounts, and <g class="gr_ gr_78 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="78" data-gr-id="78">an amount</g> of Rs 1,500 crore worth loans were transferred.</li>
<li>Another scam that was unfolded in 2014 was the bribe-for-loan scam involving ex-chairman and MD of Syndicate Bank SK Jain for involvement in sanctioning Rs Rs 8,000 crore.</li>
<li>In 2014, Vijay Mallya was also declared a willful defaulter by Union Bank of India, following which other banks such as SBI and PNB followed suit.</li>
<li>In 2015, another fraud that raised eyebrows involved employees of Jain Infraprojects, who defrauded Central Bank of India to the tune of over Rs 2,000 crore.</li>
<li>One of the biggest banking frauds of 2016 is the one involving Syndicate Bank, where almost 380 accounts were opened by four people, who defrauded the bank of Rs 10 billion using fake cheques, Letter of Undertakings (<g class="gr_ gr_68 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="68" data-gr-id="68">LoUs</g>) and LIC policies.</li>
<li>The fresh bank fraud to the tune of Rs 11,450 crore involving diamond merchant Nirav Modi. It has come to light that the company, in connivance with retired employees of PNB, got at least 150 <g class="gr_ gr_69 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="69" data-gr-id="69">LoUs</g>, allowing Nirav Modi Group to defraud the bank and many other banks who gave loans to him.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>The reason behind these frauds</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Most frauds show that banks did not observe due diligence, both before and after disbursing loans.</li>
<li>Poor level of checks and balances in the banking system is also one of the reason.</li>
<li>Lack of technology and fraud monitoring agencies to detect frauds makes the problem more complex.</li>
<li>There is an absence of an effective mechanism to monitor the credit flow.</li>
<li>Flawed risk-mitigation design, which creates an excessive focus on credit or market risks, but focuses less on operational risks also leading to more breaches.</li>
<li>Excessive dependence on manual supervision, at both external and internal levels makes it impossible to manually control and supervise the sheer volume of transactions.</li>
<li>The disintegrating moral <g class="gr_ gr_90 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="90" data-gr-id="90">fibre</g> of Indian businessmen, bankers and other white-collar professionals, nepotism in internal committees of banks, unnecessary political interventions lead to increased frauds.</li>
<li>The political pulls and pressures on investigating agencies, and long-drawn processes of legal system act less as a deterrent.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is important that banks should take help of technology to detect frauds and improve the sharing of information.</li>
<li>Law enforcement agencies should work in such a way that they don&rsquo;t end up creating an environment of fear, affecting the flow of credit to productive sectors.</li>
<li>Apart from improving capabilities in the banking system, accountability of third-party service providers such as auditors and lawyers should also be fixed.</li>
<li>Assessment of working capital limit should be done before the flow of credit.</li>
<li>Awareness should be created about loopholes, consequences of bypassing procedural aspects and benchmarks should be provided for evaluating genuineness of various essential documents.</li>
<li>The investigation should be done to find out the trail of diversion of funds and whether any money has been remitted abroad.</li>
<li>The Banks should pay the required attention to the area of internal control system and the fraud prevention measures to ensure compliance of instructions issued by them<br />from time to time.</li>
<li>The status of the borrower should be more critically <g class="gr_ gr_77 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="77" data-gr-id="77">analysed</g> by credit rating agencies to put a check on bad debts.</li>
<li>The bank should set up centralized loan processing hubs which will help in streamlining the selection of borrowers with enhanced due diligence, assessment of proposal etc,<br />thus delinking the sanction process from the branch heads.</li>
</ul>
<p>Indian banks need significant improvements in operation and governance standards to work in an effective manner, by constantly working on the loopholes so that the banking sector can contribute more to the growth of the economy.</p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/the-anatomy-of-banking-frauds'
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'title' => 'IARI Breeds Nutrient-Rich Hybrid Maize',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) scientists have bred world&rsquo;s first quality protein and pro-vitamin A-rich bio-fortified hybrid maize.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Maize, the third most important foodgrain following wheat and rice, is grown throughout the year in India. Popularly known as corn, it is used to make food items such as chips, flakes, popcorns etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Nutrient-Rich Hybrid Maize</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Cereal grains are high in carbohydrates (65-75%) and low in protein (7-12%) and their proteins are deficient in essential amino acids such as lysine and tryptophan.</li>
<li>Lysine and tryptophan are two essential amino acids- building blocks of protein- which cannot be synthesized by body and must be supplied to body via diet.</li>
<li><strong>Hybrid maize Pusa Vivek QPM 9</strong> Improved is claimed to be the world&rsquo;s first ever rich in lysine and tryptophan as well as pro-vitamin A.</li>
<li>Vitamin A, a micronutrient, is required for good vision, healthy teeth, skin and skeletal tissue. Deficiency of Vitamin A, predominantly seen in developing countries, can cause blindness and increase the susceptibility of an individual to infectious diseases.</li>
<li>Although, vitamin A rich maize has been developed elsewhere, the new variety is important as it is rich not only in vitamin A but also in two essential amino acids as well.</li>
<li>The improved version incorporates an Opaque-2 gene that enhances lysine and tryptophan content, and another gene crtRB1, which results in higher levels of carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin) that convert into vitamin A in the body. Normal maize has more of lutein and zeaxanthin, which are carotenoids that cannot convert into vitamin A.</li>
<li>The bio-fortified hybrid is not genetically modified, as both the Opaque-2 and crtRB1 genes are obtained from maize lines and not any alien/unrelated plants or microorganisms.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It can be a game changer in countering hidden hunger which stems from mineral and vitamin deficiencies, often caused by a lack of diversity in the diet.</li>
<li>It has potential to improve the nutritional status of a large population covering the children suffering from malnutrition which can enhance India&rsquo;s ranking in Global Hunger Index (GHI) which is currently in dismal state (India ranked 103 out of 119 countries in the GHI 2018).</li>
<li>The early maturity of the hybrid maize makes it suitable for hilly and relatively water-stressed regions like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra etc.</li>
<li>It can also be used by animal feed makers, who currently buy synthetic lysine as the grain itself has quality protein and pro-vitamin A. The poultry and pigs will, then, have more body weight gain and better feed conversion ratio.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Indian agricultural Research Institute (IARI), popularly known as Pusa Institute, began in 1905 at Pusa (Bihar) with the generous grant from an American philanthropist, Mr. Henry Phipps.</li>
<li>Following a devastating earthquake in 1934, the institute was shifted to Delhi on 29th July 1936.Post independence, the institute has been renamed as Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).</li>
<li>The green revolution that brought smiles to millions of Indians bloomed from the fields of IARI with the development of famous wheat varieties which contributed to massive production.</li>
<li>IARI continues to be the leading institution for agricultural research, education and extension in the country.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/iari-breeds-nutrient-rich-hybrid-maize'
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (18th October 2018)',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Kamikaze Drone</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>At its Raising Day function in Manesar, the National Security Guard (NSG) showcased recently acquired unmanned aerial vehicles which also includes Kamikaze Drones.</li>
<li>A Kamikaze drone is also known by names such as a suicide drone or a loitering munition. A loitering munition is a type of unmanned aerial vehicle designed to engage beyond line-of-sight ground targets with an explosive warhead.</li>
<li>It is an unmanned aerial vehicle that is designed <g class="gr_ gr_76 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="76" data-gr-id="76">toself</g>-<g class="gr_ gr_77 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="77" data-gr-id="77">destructt</g> after serving its purpose.</li>
<li>It can be effective in room intervention during counter-terrorism operations - a drone breaking in and exploding will involve a lower risk of the casualty than jawans entering physically.</li>
<li>Kamikaze Drone is built indigenously by an Indian company Vortex UAS.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle-DSRV</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Indian Navy successfully executed the trials of the newly-inducted rescue vehicle which will now help conduct a rescue mission to bring back personnel from a disabled submarine.</li>
<li>Apart from rescue missions, they can also be deployed for various other missions like laying cables on the sea bed.</li>
<li>The DSRV is operated by a crew of three, and can rescue 14 personnel from a disabled submarine at one time.</li>
<li>DSRVs are transportable by truck, aircraft, ship, or by specially configured attack submarine. It dives, conducts a sonar search, and attaches to the disabled submarine&rsquo;s hatch.</li>
<li>India has joined a select group of countries that have the capability to locate and rescue "distressed submarines". At present, the US, China, Russia and a few other countries have the capabilities to deploy DSRVs.</li>
<li>The second DSRV is expected to be inducted at Visakhapatnam in 2019. It has been built by James Fisher &amp; Sons, a United Kingdom company.</li>
<li>The induction of the DSRV is part of Indian Navy&rsquo;s efforts to enhance operational capabilities when China has been ramping up its maritime presence in critical sea lanes which are of strategic importance to India.</li>
</ul>
<h3>World&rsquo;s Largest Unmanned Transport Drone</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>China successfully tested the world&rsquo;s largest unmanned transport drone which can carry a payload of 1.5 tonnes.</li>
<li>Feihong-98 (FH-98) was adapted from the prototype of the Shifei Y5B, a China-developed transport plane which has been widely used for over 60 years.</li>
<li>As China&rsquo;s first fully domestically-built transport aircraft, the Shifei Y5B has a history of over 60 years since its first flight in 1957 and has been widely used.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-18th-october-2018-'
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'title' => 'A Flawed Defence Procurement Policy',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><em><strong>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;A flawed </strong></em><g class="gr_ gr_142 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="142" data-gr-id="142">defence</g><em><strong> procurement policy&rdquo; which appeared in LiveMint on 18th October 2018. It analyses the defence procurement policy of India.)</strong></em></p>
</div>
<p>Post-independence defence procurement in India was heavily influenced by an ideological preference for public sector and high dependence on a single foreign exporter (the USSR). Technology transfer was limited, domestic capacity was often confined to integration of systems under licensing. But, after the end of the Cold War and especially after the Economic Liberalization of India (1991), the expansion of diplomatic and military relations with multiple countries led to complex multi-vendor negotiations for defence products. Focus also gradually shifted to increasing domestic quality and capacity building and (with foreign partners) for joint research, development and co-production.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><g class="gr_ gr_161 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="161" data-gr-id="161">Defence</g> procurement has always been a messy business in India. Some of the famous scams are listed as follows:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tatra trucks scam: These trucks are manufactured in the Czech Republic. Since 1986, the Indian Army has bought over 7,000 Tatra trucks. According to the <g class="gr_ gr_162 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="162" data-gr-id="162">defence</g> procurement guidelines, all purchases should be made from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). But BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Limited) had been <g class="gr_ gr_89 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="89" data-gr-id="89">flouting</g> the guidelines and had made purchases from a middleman in London.</li>
<li>Scorpene Submarine scam: The Scorpene deal scam was a bribery scandal, in which USD 175 million (Rupees 1,100 crores) were alleged to have been paid to government decision makers by Thales (-is a French multinational company that designs and builds electrical systems and provides services for the aerospace, <g class="gr_ gr_124 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="124" data-gr-id="124">defence</g>, transportation and security markets; headquarters are in Paris). Scorpene submarines are now being built in India under a technology transfer agreement that was part of that contract.</li>
<li>AgustaWestland chopper scam: Controversy over the contract came to light, with <g class="gr_ gr_139 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="139" data-gr-id="139">arrest</g> of Giuseppe Orsi, the CEO of Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland's parent company by Italian authorities as they found him guilty of bribery<g class="gr_ gr_140 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep" id="140" data-gr-id="140">.Defence</g> Ministry had allegedly tweaked technical requirements to enable Finmeccanica to bid for the deal with its AW101 helicopter. Rs 375 crore was allegedly paid as bribery to the middlemen in the deal.</li>
<li>Coffin scam: After the Kargil war of 1999, there were allegations of corruption in the purchase of coffins by the then BJP-led Government. The government had incurred a heavy loss of 1,87,000 USD in the entire transaction.</li>
<li>Bofors scam: Bofors (Bofors AB is a Swedish arms manufacturer) paid kickbacks to people from a number of countries including top Swedish, and Indian politicians and key <g class="gr_ gr_101 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="101" data-gr-id="101">defence</g> officials to seal <g class="gr_ gr_102 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="102" data-gr-id="102">defence</g> procurement deals.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Current Issue</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Rafale controversy once again calls for the introspection of <g class="gr_ gr_136 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="136" data-gr-id="136">underlying</g> problem in the country&rsquo;s Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). It is time for an analysis of whether the DPP is transparent in decision making.</li>
<li>The Opposition is intensely raising questions over the financial terms of the agreement and alleging crony capitalism while the government is rejecting all the accusations. The Opposition is also claiming that there is no transparency in the deal with Reliance <g class="gr_ gr_115 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="115" data-gr-id="115">Defence,</g> and that the company will be a key financial beneficiary at the expense of the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Union Government released Defence Procurement Procedure in the year 2016, which replaced the Defence Procurement Policy of 2013.</li>
<li>This was based on the recommendations of Dhirendra Singh committee which was appointed for the review of DPP 2013.</li>
<li>The DPP 2016 was streamlined with a focus on indigenously designed, developed and manufactured weapon systems.</li>
<li>It also added an additional category &ldquo;Buy (Indian-IDDM)&rdquo; i.e Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured, as the most preferred way of <g class="gr_ gr_120 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="120" data-gr-id="120">defence</g> goods acquisition. Outright purchase of equipment and procurements under this scheme are categorized as Buy (Indian- IDDM).</li>
<li>This category refers to the procurement from an Indian vendor of either <g class="gr_ gr_91 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="91" data-gr-id="91">products</g> that have been indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with a minimum of 40% indigenous content or products having 60% of it on a cost basis but not designed and developed indigenously.</li>
<li>The policy has also significantly <g class="gr_ gr_100 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="100" data-gr-id="100">liberalised</g> the offset liability for foreign vendors, which makes it compulsory for companies to invest, or source, at least 30% of the contract value in India.</li>
<li>While offset was compulsory for all contracts more than 300 <g class="gr_ gr_97 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="97" data-gr-id="97">crore</g> earlier, the minimum contract value has now been increased to 2000 crores.</li>
<li>Capital acquisition scheme was classified into 3 main categories:</li>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Buy and Make scheme: Here the procurements are categorized as Buy and Make, and Buy and Make (Indian).</li>
<li>Make scheme: For developing <g class="gr_ gr_88 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="88" data-gr-id="88">long term</g> <g class="gr_ gr_134 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="134" data-gr-id="134">defence</g> capabilities. (Make II procedure amended the original Make procedure in DPP 2016 for enabling greater participation of industry.)</li>
<li>Buy scheme: Direct purchase of equipment and procurements under this scheme are categorized as Buy (Indian- IDDM), Buy(Global).</li>
</ul>
<li>This DPP allowed the Defence Acquisition Council to take a "fast-track" route to acquire weapons, something which was limited to only the armed forces till now.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Flaws in DPP 2016</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Offset requirements under the DPP are not helping it achieve its goal. (Offsets are a portion of a contracted price with a foreign supplier that must be re-invested in the Indian <g class="gr_ gr_146 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="146" data-gr-id="146">defence</g> sector, or against which the government can purchase technology.)</li>
<li>Besides, the recent Rafale controversy is the symptom of a larger underlying problem in decision-making, transparency <g class="gr_ gr_145 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="145" data-gr-id="145">and</g> consistency of public policy.</li>
<li>The DPP even seems to indicate that the foreign supplier has complete discretion on <g class="gr_ gr_109 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="109" data-gr-id="109">choice</g> of the Indian offset partner (IOP). <g class="gr_ gr_87 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="87" data-gr-id="87">If</g> assumed it to be true, it would result in a moral hazard at the outset and, by extension, would permit the Indian government to avoid public procurement rules when taxpayer money is routed through a foreign supplier towards &ldquo;offsets&rdquo;.</li>
<li>While the procurement policy recognizes the need for domestic private partnership, it does not mandate a fair and diverse procurement process for offsets. Given the large contract values involved, this makes it likely that foreign suppliers will partner with just one or two large industrial groups to discharge their offset obligations.</li>
<li>Lack of transparency in procurement contracts is another big drawback.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under Indian law, government procurement is treated as <g class="gr_ gr_104 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="104" data-gr-id="104">distribution</g> of largesse by the state and, hence, must be fair, transparent and equitable&mdash;there can be no <g class="gr_ gr_105 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="105" data-gr-id="105">favouritism</g> or nepotism in the award of public contracts.</li>
<li>Regulations that restrict foreign investments in the <g class="gr_ gr_99 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="99" data-gr-id="99">defence</g> sector also require a dose of reform.</li>
<li>In the interest of fairness, foreign suppliers should be free to invest in India, yet at the same time, offset investments/procurement must be subject to safeguards along the lines of those that govern public <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">procurement,</g> because after all, they are expending public funds.</li>
<li>Without substantive reforms in the DPP, there are likely to be more controversies, and perceptions and accusations of crony capitalism</li>
</ul>
<h3>What&rsquo;s next?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>With the year-old Defence Procurement Policy not working as expected, the Government of India is planning to come up with a new policy soon. The Government has announced in the General Budget 2018-19, that it will bring out an <g class="gr_ gr_86 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="86" data-gr-id="86">industry friendly</g> Defence Production Policy 2018 to promote domestic production by public sector, <g class="gr_ gr_112 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="112" data-gr-id="112">private</g> sector <g class="gr_ gr_113 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="113" data-gr-id="113">and</g> MSMEs.</li>
</ul>',
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		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/a-flawed-defence-procurement-policy'
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'title' => 'Rural Development Ministry Conducts Survey under Mission Antyodaya',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The Rural Development Ministry has done a gap analysis of more than 3.5 lakh villages, in more than 1.6 lakh panchayats under the Mission Antyodaya convergence scheme.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Gap analysis involves the comparison of actual performance with potential or desired performance.</li>
<li><strong>Kuligod in Karnataka&rsquo;s Belagavi district</strong> is the country&rsquo;s best developed village, but more than a third of the gram panchayats ranked in the top 10 are in Andhra Pradesh.</li>
<li>In October 2017, an initial baseline survey was carried out in 50,000 gram panchayats, in 2018, the exercise is expected to cover all of the country&rsquo;s 2.5 lakh panchayats by the end of November. The rankings will be updated as more panchayats are included.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Survey Analysis</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A team of officials surveyed and scored village level facilities and amenities using parameters related to infrastructure, economic development and livelihood, irrigation facilities, health, nutrition and sanitation, women&rsquo;s empowerment, and financial inclusion.</li>
<li>About a quarter of all villages have more than 75% of households using clean energy, such as LPG or biogas which should be further increased in alignment with the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.</li>
<li>More than 73% of the villages are connected with an all-weather road which needs to be speeded up as Government has brought forward the target date by three years from 2022 to 2019 to achieve complete rural connectivity through all-weather roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.</li>
<li>The survey indicates moderate progress in the rural housing scheme as less than 10% of the villages have more than 80% of their houses with kachha walls and roofs, indicating temporary structures.</li>
<li>Financial inclusion which is the most vital link for village empowerment still has long way to go, with less than 15% of villages having banks, while just more than 10% have ATMs.</li>
<li>At the national level, the data shows progress in some areas and also spotlights discrepancies in respect of targets met under some other government schemes.</li>
<li>For example, the survey reveals that more than 95% of villages have electricity available for domestic use, while the government had earlier this year claimed that 100% of villages had power connections.</li>
<li>Similarly with regard to sanitation, the survey shows only 58% of villages, slightly more than 2 lakh of the 3.5 lakh surveyed villages are open defecation free (ODF). However, according to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan-Gramin, about 5 lakh out of India&rsquo;s 6 lakh villages are already ODF.</li>
</ul>
<p>The survey result is significant for the outcomes achieved from various schemes but since it shows the gap between the claimed achievements and outcomes, it should be taken up seriously by the Government to remove the discrepancies in the targets met.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Mission Antyodaya</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Mission Antyodaya is a mission mode project envisaged by the Ministry of Rural Development. It is a convergence framework for measurable effective outcomes on parameters that transform lives and livelihoods.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Significance of Mission Antyodaya</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In India, 8.88 crore households are found to be deprived and poor households as per Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) of 2011 from the perspective of multi-dimensional deprivations such as shelterlessness, landlessness, households headed by single women, SC/ST household or disabled member in the family.</li>
<li>These households require targeted interventions under government&rsquo;s various schemes and programmes in areas such as wage creation, skill generation, social security, education, health, nutrition and livelihood creation.In this context, &lsquo;Mission Antyodaya&rsquo; seeks to converge government interventions with Gram Panchayats as the basic unit for planning by pooling resources - human and financial - to ensure sustainable livelihoods.</li>
<li>It facilitates identification of gaps in a quest for poverty free gram panchayats and drive economic activities.</li>
<li>Since this scheme is expected to encompass schemes from ministries of health, education, employment and social security (insurance schemes under financial services), the recipient can access varied benefits under one umbrella.</li>
<li>The transmission due to such a convergence is likely to be high and could also enable extensive coverage. This can go a long way in helping the government achieve its aim of reaching the poorest of the poor and the disenfranchised.</li>
<li>The convergence of multiple schemes under a single scheme could enable the government to migrate all these to the digital Aadhar-enabled platform thereby contributing further to the Digital India mission aims.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/rural-development-ministry-conducts-survey-under-mission-antyodaya'
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts for Prelims (17th October 2018)',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Oldest Evidence of Animal Life Found</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Researchers have found the oldest clue of animal life in rocks from Oman, Siberia, and India.</li>
<li>Research suggested that<strong> sea sponges emerged as early as 660 million years ago</strong>, during the Neoproterozoic Era (660-635 million years ago), which is at least 100 million years before the Cambrian Explosion.</li>
<li>In ancient rocks and oils,<strong> researchers found a steroid compound produced only by sponges, which are among the earliest forms of animal life.</strong></li>
<li><strong>The &ldquo;Cambrian Explosion&rdquo; refers to the sudden appearance in the fossil record of complex animals with mineralized skeletal remains 541 million years ago.</strong></li>
<li>The biomarker identified by scientists is a steroid compound named 26-methyl stigmastane (26-mes).</li>
<li>It has a unique structure that is currently only known to be synthesized by certain species of modern sponges called demosponges.</li>
<li>In September 2018, an international team of researchers claimed to have discovered the world&rsquo;s oldest fossil&mdash;creature known as<strong> Dickinsonia</strong>, which first appeared around 571 million to 541 million years ago.</li>
<li>Current fossil evidence dates back around 100 million years from <strong>Dickinsonia</strong>.</li>
<li>Neither study provides traditional fossil evidence such as fossils containing the outlines of bones or soft tissue. Rather, these studies highlight the chemical traces left behind by ancient creatures.</li>
<li>In the case of Dickinsonia, it was fat molecules; in the case of sea sponges, it&rsquo;s a steroid compound known as a sterane</li>
<li><strong>This finding could help scientists better understand the interaction of geology and biology that triggered the evolution of complex life on Earth.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Charles Darwin proposed the existence of an evolutionary starting point and a primordial organism from which all modern life descended. This organism is termed as LUCA (Last universal common ancestor). Any fossil evidence of LUCA is yet to be discovered.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Kolkata GPO marks 150 years</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently Kolkata&rsquo;s General Post Office (GPO) completed its 150 years. The Heritage building with Corinthian columns was opened to the public on October 2, 1868.</li>
<li>It is not only an iconic building of the city but also the biggest working post office of the Kolkata Circle.</li>
<li>An extension of the postal museum, housed in the building has been inaugurated. The museum displayed an exhibition of illustrations depicting postmen carrying letters.</li>
<li>Other exhibits in the museum include badges used by postmen, weighing machines and the first postage stamps, printed at the Survey of India office in 1854 and a Post Office Map of provinces of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa and Arracan dating back to 1854.</li>
<li>It is still a matter of speculation whether the Old Fort, where the<strong> GPO stands today is the site of the &ldquo;Black Hole Tragedy&rdquo; of 1756.</strong> Researchers of the Archaeological Survey of India are working to ascertain whether this is a site of the alleged incident.</li>
<li><strong>According to historians, the &ldquo;Black Hole Tragedy&rdquo; refers to the time when several English prisoners died as a result of incarceration in a cramped prison by Nawab of Bengal Siraj Ud-Daulah after he attacked Calcutta.&nbsp;</strong></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<h3>From Bihar to Assam via Bangladesh</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently the cargo ship carrying fly ash on the pilot basis from Bihar reached its destination in Guwahati. This has rekindled hope for an inland waterway transport system that had virtually ended with Partition in 1947.</li>
<li>This has been one of the biggest voyages in recent history covering 2,085 km from Kahalgaon in Bihar to Pandu in Guwahati.</li>
<li>This voyage has demonstrated that the inland waterways, both National Waterway 1, or Ganga, and National Waterway 2, that is the Brahmaputra, are technically feasible for transportation of cargo ships of 1,500-2,000 tonnes through India-Bangladesh Protocol route.</li>
<li>The voyage of the ships marked one of the longest hauls in the inland water sector movement in the country.</li>
<li>Around Independence, Assam&rsquo;s per capita income was very high owing to access of its tea, timber, coal and oil industries to seaports via the Brahmaputra and Barak river systems. The scenario changed after the river routes were cut off and rail and road through the Chicken&rsquo;s Neck (a narrow strip in West Bengal), became costlier alternatives.</li>
</ul>
<h3>NASA&rsquo;s Chandra X-ray Observatory</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>NASA&rsquo;s Chandra X-ray Observatory went into safe mode after a gyroscope problem. During safe mode, spacecraft&rsquo;s instruments are all turned off and only the most fundamental systems are kept on.</li>
<li>Gyroscopes help spacecraft maintain proper orientation.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Chandra X- Ray Observatory</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Launched: July 23, 1999</li>
<li>Goal: Detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes.</li>
<li>Chandra is part of NASA's Great Observatories Program, which launched four powerful space telescopes from 1990 to 2003:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Hubble Space Telescope in 1990</li>
<li>The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) in 1991</li>
<li>The Spitzer Space Telescope in 2003</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>CGRO was intentionally deorbited in 2000 after a gyroscope failure.</li>
<li>Chandra is active well beyond the original design lifetime of 5 years. In 2001, NASA extended its lifetime to 10 years. It is now into its extended mission.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>World Food Day</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Every year, World Food Day is celebrated on October 16 to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of United Nations in the year 1945.</li>
<li>This year&rsquo;s theme is &lsquo;Zero Hunger&rsquo; which means working together to ensure everyone, everywhere, has access to the safe, healthy and nutritious food they need. To achieve it, we must adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, work with others, share our knowledge and be willing to help change the world &ndash; for the better.</li>
<li>The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-2) also aims to &ldquo;End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture&rdquo; by 2030.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Roshni- Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana &ndash; National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and Lady Irwin College have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishing ROSHNI &ndash; Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action.</li>
<li>ROSHNI is technically and financially supported by UNICEF India serving as a technical support unit at national level for DAY-NRLM and is embedded in the Department of Development Communication and Extension, Lady Irwin College, New Delhi.</li>
<li>Roshni aims to work with women collectives for social action on Food, Health, Nutrition and WASH (FHNW) interventions in alignment with DAY-NRLM.</li>
<li>Roshni will incorporate learnings from Swabhimaan and similar models, and extend support to DAY-NRLM for expanding the scope of FHNW interventions.</li>
<li>The Centre will lead knowledge creation, capacity building for scale-up of convergent action plan, learning and re- learning in Swabhimaan sites and provide policy guidance to DAY-NRLM on POSHAN Abhiyan initiatives.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Swabhimaan is initiative of the Union Government and the Indian Banks&rsquo; Association to bridge economic gap between rural and urban India. This campaign is a step towards socio-economic equality by bringing the underprivileged segments of Indian population into the formal banking fold.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-17th-october-2018'
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'title' => 'Has The SC Missed A Chance To Keep Criminals Out Of Polls',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><em><strong>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;Has the SC missed a chance to keep criminals out of polls&rdquo; which appeared in The Hindu on 12th October 2018. It analyses the Supreme Court&rsquo;s judgement on criminalisation of politics)</strong></em></p>
</div>
<p>In the Public Interest Foundation and ors vs. Union of India judgment, the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that it is the responsibility of the parliament to frame a law to prevent criminalization of politics.<img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/331corruption.jpg" width="382" height="356" style="float: right; margin: 20px;" caption="false" /></p>
<p>According to Article 102(1) of the Constitution, Parliament is obliged to make a law on the matter. The Supreme Court has rejected the inclination to disqualify candidates facing serious criminal charges from contesting elections. It ruled that mere framing of charges cannot be a basis of disqualification of the candidate.</p>
<p>The court observed that cleansing politics from criminal elements begins with purifying political parties itself, as they are the central institution of India&rsquo;s democracy. <strong>The Supreme court&rsquo;s order created the ground for debate, whether the order is in line with the principles of natural justice or is a verdict of disappointment in keeping criminals out of polls.</strong></p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The past three Lok Sabhas have seen an increasing number of legislators with criminal background &mdash; 128 in 2004, 162 in 2009 and 184 in 2014.</li>
<li>The Election Commission (EC), tried to obtain help from the government, political parties and the apex court in ending corrupt influences on legislatures.</li>
<li>The Election Commission has moved to Supreme Court in appeal against a decision of the Delhi High Court to set aside the disqualification of a MP in Madhya Pradesh.</li>
<li>The EC proposal to bar candidates accused of an offence punishable with at least five years of imprisonment from contesting elections, after charges are framed against them by a court, has been opposed by many parties.</li>
<li>The court&rsquo;s recent verdict passed on the responsibility to the EC itself.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Landmark decisions in decriminalising politics</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 2002, the Supreme Court, in Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) v. Union of India, mandated the disclosure of information relating to criminal antecedents, educational qualification, and personal assets of a candidate contesting elections.</li>
<li>Supreme Court in Lily Thomas v. Union of India (2013) case, struck down as unconstitutional Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act that allowed convicted lawmakers a three-month period for filing appeal to the higher court and to get a stay on the conviction and sentence.</li>
<li>In People&rsquo;s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India (2013), the SC recognised negative voting as a constitutional right of a voter and directed the Government to provide the &lsquo;NOTA&rsquo; option in electronic voting machines.</li>
<li>In Public Interest Foundation and Ors. v Union of India (2014) based on recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 244th report, the SC had ordered that trials, in relation to sitting MPs and MLAs be concluded within a year of charges against them being framed.</li>
<li>Recently, SC directed the Government to set up special courts to exclusively conduct time-bound trials of politicians accused of corruption and criminality.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision on information disclosure (Lok Prahari v. Union of India) paves a way for future constitutional interventions in India&rsquo;s political party funding regime, including the scheme of electoral bonds.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Argument against Supreme Court&rsquo;s verdict</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The apex court has instructed political parties to put on their respective websites information on candidates having criminal antecedents. But accessibility remains as an issue for most of the population.</li>
<li>Both the candidate and the political party are required to publicise the information. But political parties will not go against their interest and they will not publish the real information.</li>
<li>Election Commission is asked to publicise the candidates&rsquo; background. The EC already displays these details, given in the candidates&rsquo; affidavits, on its website. The only difference this time is that these details are to be given in bold. Any more advertising by the EC will create problems, like inviting allegations of subjectivity, bias and partiality.</li>
<li>Political parties appear to be competing to field criminal candidates, as their &lsquo;winnability&rsquo; is proven to be more. Verdict will indirectly support this tradition.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Argument supporting Supreme Court&rsquo;s verdict</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The court ruled that any move to disqualify candidates charged with crimes (as opposed to those convicted) would require an amendment to the Representation of the People Act. That is the domain of the legislature and thus, it is Parliament that should take action.</li>
<li>In terms of natural justice, disqualifying persons from contesting elections at the stage of framing of charges is a blatant violation of due process.</li>
<li>It can easily lead to abuse, with politicians filing false cases in order to disqualify their opponents.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Inherent <strong>structural issues need to be addressed</strong> by allowing candidates and parties to raise and spend money legally and transparently.</li>
<li><strong>State funding of election</strong> could also help in controlling the flow of unaccounted money and muscle power during elections.</li>
<li>Providing power to registered voters in a constituency to <strong>recall elected representatives</strong> from the house on grounds of non performance can create awareness at grassroot level.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>It is not the job of the judiciary to formulate legislation.</strong> Parliament should act in the direction to decriminalise politics. <strong>If Parliament does not act, there are two ways to keep potential criminals out of the electoral arena: political parties can choose to not give tickets to aspirants charged with heinous crimes; and voters can reject such candidates at the polls.</strong></p>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://drishtiias.com/images/uploads/557image2.png" width="718" height="432" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/has-the-sc-missed-a-chance-to-keep-criminals-out-of-polls'
	],
	(int) 16 => [
		'title' => 'RBI Allows Interoperability Among Mobile Wallets',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released guidelines to facilitate payments among different mobile wallets, a move aimed at promoting digital transactions.</p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The government has taken several steps to discourage people from using cash and persuade them to switch to digital transactions. Mobile wallets have shown a huge potential to drive the government's agenda.</li>
<li>So far, the wallets operate in semi-closed loops and cannot interconnect with each other. For eg. Money from Paytm can&rsquo;t be transferred to MobiKwik.</li>
<li>As per the road-map laid down in 2017, interoperability of all KYC-compliant Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) was to be enabled in three phases -
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>interoperability of PPIs issued in the form of wallets through Unified Payments Interface (UPI),</li>
<li>interoperability between wallets and bank accounts through UPI, and</li>
<li>interoperability for PPIs issued in the form of cards through card networks.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued consolidated guidelines for enabling all phases in order to prepare better for implementation of interoperability.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Interoperability</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Interoperability is the technical compatibility that enables a payment system to be used in conjunction with other payment systems.</li>
<li>Interoperability allows PPI issuers, system providers and system participants in different systems to undertake, clear and settle payment transactions across systems without participating in multiple systems.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Implications</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Now interoperability between PPIs such as wallets and cards will effectively allow users of popular payment wallets such as Paytm, Freecharge, Mobikwik, PhonePe and PayZapp, among others, to transfer money from one wallet to another.</li>
<li>Further, wallets can implement interoperability through the Unified Payment Interface (UPI).</li>
<li>The RBI also allowed PPIs to issue cards using authorised card networks such as Mastercard, Visa or Rupay.</li>
<li>The biggest beneficiaries of interoperability will be the wallet users, who will not have to specifically look for merchants who accept a certain wallet. With interoperability, they can make payments from a wallet to any merchant who accepts digital payments. <strong>This will bring wallets on par with cards</strong>, a symbolic transition with all transactions being accepted at all networks.</li>
<li>This is progressive move for non-bank players and huge foundations to reach under-banked and unbanked with equally powerful payment product in league of debit/credit cards.</li>
<li>Different companies, which are otherwise competing with each other for a larger share of the business, will end up sharing resources, and can focus on creating a more distinct value added platform.</li>
<li>While boosting the e-wallet segment, new guidelines would also ensure the safety and accuracy of the transfer of money by individuals from one wallet to another.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Unified Payments Interface (UPI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>UPI is a single-window mobile payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The interface is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).</li>
<li>It is a payments system launched by the National Payments Corporation of India in August 2016. It facilitates instant fund transfer between two bank accounts on the mobile platform, without having to provide any detail of the beneficiary&rsquo;s bank account.</li>
<li>It is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing &amp; merchant payments into one hood.</li>
<li>The system is said to be a safe and secure method of transferring money between two parties, and cuts out the need to transact with physical cash or through a bank.</li>
<li>It also caters to the &ldquo;Peer to Peer&rdquo; collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/rbi-allows-interoperability-among-mobile-wallets'
	],
	(int) 17 => [
		'title' => 'Annapurna Devi of Hindustani Music Passes Away',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Annapurna Devi, prominent artist of classical <strong>Hindustani music</strong>, recently passed away at the age of 92.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>She was the iconic and famously reclusive surbahar (bass sitar) player.</li>
<li>She was the daughter of Maihar gharana founder Ustad Allauddin Khan.</li>
<li>She was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Hindustani Music</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Hindustani classical music is an Indian classical music tradition. It originated in North India around 13th and 14th centuries.</li>
<li>In contrast to Carnatic music, the other main Indian classical music tradition from South India, the Hindustani classical music was not only influenced by ancient Hindu musical traditions and Vedic philosophy but also by the Persian elements.</li>
<li>Hindustani music is based on the raga system. The Raga is a melodic scale, comprising of notes from the basic seven- Sa, Re, Ga, Ma Pa, Dha and Ni.</li>
<li>There is a rich tradition of Gharanas in classical Hindustani music. The music Gharanas are also called styles. These schools or Gharanas have their basis in the traditional mode of musical training and education. Every Gharana has its own distinct features. Popular gharanas are: Gwalior gharana, Agra Gharana, Indore Gharana, Jaipur Gharana.</li>
<li>Hindustani classical music is primarily vocal-centric. The major vocal forms associated with Hindustani music are the khayal, Ghazal, dhrupad, dhammar, tarana and thumri.</li>
<li><strong>Dhrupad</strong> style of singing is traditionally performed by men with a tanpura and pakhawaj. The lyrics sung in Dhrupad are in a medieval form of Hindi and typically heroic in theme, or in praise of a particular deity.</li>
<li><strong>Khayal</strong> consists of about 4-8 lines of lyrics set to a tune. The performer uses these few lines as the base for improvisation.</li>
<li><strong>Tarana</strong> are songs that are used to convey a feel of joy and are usually performed towards the end of a concert.</li>
<li><strong>Thumri</strong> is an informal vocal form of Hindustani classical music and is said to have begun with the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the Nawab of Oudh.</li>
<li>Originally, a Persian form of vocal music, <strong>Ghazal</strong> is an important part of Hindustani Classical music. Ghazal exists in multiple variations, including folk and pop forms.The themes of Ghazals range from love, joy and piety.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/annapurna-devi-of-hindustani-music-passes-away'
	],
	(int) 18 => [
		'title' => 'UN Report on FDI',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>India attracted USD 22 billion of FDI flows in the first half of 2018, according to a UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report-&nbsp;<strong>&lsquo;Investment Trends Monitor&rsquo;.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The report highlighted that said that in South Asia, India's FDI inflows contributed to the subregion&rsquo;s 13% rise in FDI in the first half of the year.</li>
<li>The report also&nbsp;states that the global foreign direct investment dropped by 41% in the same period due to tax reforms carried out by the US administration. These reforms have encouraged big firms in the US to bring back earnings from abroad, specially from Western European countries.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The decline in FDI is happening mainly in wealthy, industrialized nations, especially in North America and Western Europe.&nbsp;&nbsp;The developing economies saw FDI flows declining &ldquo;only slightly&rdquo; in the first half of the year by 4%, compared with 2017.</li>
<li>Other factors that have led to this decline are&nbsp;uncertainty about the detail and impact of tax reform and the potential impact of unresolved international trade disputes; such as the tit-for-tat tariffs imposed by the United States and China.</li>
<li>
<p>In contrast to the overall decline in foreign investment, the report highlights a 42% increase in&nbsp; &ldquo;greenfield&rdquo; projects. These initiatives can involve building operations in a foreign country from scratch and they are seen an indicator of future trends.</p>
</li>
<li>China was the largest recipient of FDI, attracting an estimated $ 70 billion in inflows in the first half of the year, followed by the UK with $ 65.5 billion, the US with $ 46.5 billion.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>United Nations Conference on Trade and Development</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental body established in 1964.</li>
<li>It promotes development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy.</li>
<li>Headquarters - Geneva, Switzerland</li>
<li>Some of the reports published by it are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Trade and Development Report</li>
<li>World Investment Report</li>
<li>The Least Developed Countries Report</li>
<li>Information and Economy Report</li>
<li>Technology and Innovation Report</li>
<li>Commodities and Development Report</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In its flagship report titled, <strong>Trade and Development Report (TDR 2018)</strong> released in September, 2018 UNCTAD has strongly advocated the need for developing countries to address issues of data sovereignty and design national policies to ensure equitable distribution of gains arising from data which is generated within the national boundaries.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Foreign Direct Investment</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country.</li>
<li>The key feature of foreign direct investment is that it establishes either effective control of, or at least substantial influence over, the decision-making of a foreign business.</li>
<li>This makes it different from portfolio investments in which an investor merely purchases equities of foreign-based companies.</li>
<li>Foreign Direct Investment is important because it gives countries access to external capital, technology, market access and tax contributions.</li>
<li>
<p>Foreign direct investments are commonly categorized as being horizontal, vertical or conglomerate.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>
<p>A <strong>horizontal direct investment</strong> refers to the investor establishing the same type of business operation in a foreign country as it operates in its home country.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>A <strong>vertical investment</strong> is one in which different but related business activities from the investor's main business are established or acquired in a foreign country, such as when a manufacturing company acquires an interest in a foreign company that supplies parts or raw materials required for the manufacturing company to make its products.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>A <strong>conglomerate type</strong> of foreign direct investment is one where a company or individual makes a foreign investment in a business that is unrelated to its existing business in its home country. Since this type of investment involves entering an industry the investor has no previous experience in, it often takes the form of a joint venture with a foreign company already operating in the industry.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/un-report-on-fdi'
	],
	(int) 19 => [
		'title' => 'How Can India Overcome The Zero Hunger Challenge',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(The editorial is based on the article &ldquo;How can India overcome the zero hunger challenge&rdquo; which appeared in Livemint on 16<sup>th</sup> October 2018. It analyses the challenges and opportunities for achieving zero hunger challenge in India.)</p>
</div>
<p>Hunger is a subjective concept, it&rsquo;s definition varies from person to person depending upon perception and understanding of requirements and objectives of life, availability of resources, socioeconomic and cultural perspectives.</p>
<p>Hunger exists when a person&lsquo;s body lacks required nutrients to grow and develop a productive, active and healthy life. The term hunger includes malnutrition, famine, starvation and appetite as well.</p>
<p>Hunger also denotes the scarcity of food in a country. And in India, hunger is one of the crucial problems. Though it is always assumed that hunger stems from lack of food, it is not completely true as hunger can stem from food mismanagement and wastage as well.</p>
<p>For example, while India produces enough food to feed its population, the country is also home to 25 percent of the world&rsquo;s hungry population. <strong>India ranked 103 among 119 countries in the Global Hunger Index (2018) rankings</strong>. The country&rsquo;s economic growth and the changing demographics are also transforming patterns of food demand. <strong>Therefore a holistic approach to food security requires ensuring available, accessible and nutritious food to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in India.</strong></p>
<h3>What is Zero Hunger Challenge ?</h3>
<p>It is a mission which aims at bringing together all stakeholders to communicate the importance of food security, nutrition and inclusive, sustainable and resilient agriculture and to make the world free from hunger, malnutrition and rural poverty. <strong>The Zero Hunger Challenge is guided by a set of core principles that are grounded in the Charter of the United Nations and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Goal 2 of Sustainable Development Goals:</strong> End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture aims at ending hunger as stated. The Zero Hunger Challenge was launched by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2012 at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil in June 2012.</p>
<h3>Causes and Issues Related to Food Scarcity in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s food basket differs from region to region, which makes it difficult to fulfill the needs of population of every region through domestic production only.</strong></li>
<li>Secondly, inadequate warehousing facilities and cold storages is leading to wastage of about 7% of total annual food production and almost 30% of the fruits and vegetables.</li>
<li>According to the estimation of National Centre for Cold-chain Development (NCCD) the country has only 15% of the required temperature-control transportation facilities and less than 1% of warehouse facilities dedicated for transporting pre-conditioned agricultural produce.</li>
<li>Moreover, lack of large scale commercial farms and low levels of land consolidation among small farm holders leads to mismanagement in agri production. This has also further aggravated the cycle of rural poverty which in turn has created a poverty situation in the country where small farmers have a reduced capacity to produce food, as most of them cannot afford seeds, fertilizers and modern technologies like pump-irrigation, harvester machines, tractors etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Food security and pollution</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that food wastage accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.</strong></li>
<li>The problem of food waste is intensified because of the lack of regulation around industry standards and policies. Increased attraction to stock discounted products also leads to food wastage which further serves as reason for food shortage.</li>
<li>Man made causes such as increased deposits of industrial effluent, unscientific farming and flow of chemical fertilizer into water bodies led to water pollution. Land degradation due to increased human activities has impacted negatively on agricultural production.</li>
<li>In effect, natural disasters such as floods, tropical storms and prolonged droughts are on the increase and they create devastating impacts on food security particularly in developing countries.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is a growing need for the design and development of more efficient integrated systems of food production, processing, preservation and distribution that can feed the changing food requirements of the nation.</li>
<li>Systems of cold chains which are integrated with agriculture markets should be developed to reduce post-harvest losses and to allow farmers to earn more by tapping into remunerative markets, while maintaining the quality of their produce.</li>
<li>Resilient transportation infrastructure should be established to allow transportation of food from food surplus to food deficit areas.</li>
<li>Activities such as upgradation of rural infrastructure, training of farmers in post-harvest practices to minimize losses, integrating small scale enterprises into value chains, organizing smallholder farmers into farmer producer organizations, customized financial services, investment in agricultural research, and last-mile marketing channels should also come into action.</li>
<li>It also important to ensure social equity, gender inclusiveness and making agriculture less labour intensive and gender friendly to improve production.</li>
<li>Private companies should invest to bring out potential solutions to minimise food wastage. <strong>A report by the Boston Consulting Group estimates that solving the problem of food loss and wastage is a $700 billion opportunity for private companies.</strong> Companies are also better positioned as they have the ability to influence consumer behaviour.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For example, the retail chain Tesco has started the &lsquo;Buy one get one free&mdash;later&rsquo; programme wherein customers can buy certain food items and take the free product later when they actually need it.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>General public awareness around the issue of food wastage should be made through various medias.</li>
<li>The government, on its part should make laws that penalize companies for wasting food within their supply chain and encourage repurposing and recycling of food items.</li>
<li>For example, since 2016, France has been fining grocery stores for throwing away edible food. <em><strong>'Disposing is cheaper than using or reusing' attitude should be changed gradually.</strong></em></li>
<li>The farmer known as the first participant of the economy, has to be supported to achieve the highest production and productivity and must be ensured a larger share of profit along the value chain.</li>
<li>The current one-way movement of raw materials (from farmers) and a one-way movement of finished goods (to farmers) must be transformed into a two-way movement of commerce.</li>
<li>Communication and cooperation between farmers is also needed as it will ensure no single crop is overproduced.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Global Hunger Index</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels.</li>
<li>It is calculated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in Washington, D.C.</li>
<li>The scores are calculated annually, considering undernutrition, child wasting, child stunting, child mortality as indicators.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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	]
]
$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) 275
$search = 'class'
$totalPages = (float) 309
$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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