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KKUPSC Daily Current Affairs, 21 January 2019
Prelims Special
Granting the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities in Assam :-
- Six communities — Adivasi (Tea Tribes), Chutia, Koch-Rajbongshi, Matak, Moran and Ta-Ahom.
- According to the coordination committee of the Tribal Organisations of Assam, the State’s total tribal population is 3.8 million
Gujjars, Bakerwals being targeted in Jammu :-
- Gujjars and Bakerwals constitute 80 per cent of the tribal population in Jammu and Kashmir
- Census described them as the "most illiterate, poor and backward communities, marginalised among scheduled tribes"
- It said the Gujjars and Bakerwals are not advanced enough to compete with other tribes of the state, having better education and livelihood.
- Gujjars and Bakerwals were granted scheduled tribe status in 1991 in the state, sharing 10 percent ST quota in government jobs and educational institutions in the state.
RailTel is turning railway stations into digital hubs :-
- Indian Railways has one of the world’s largest public WiFi networks in RailWire WiFi.
- With around 2.6 crore users logins in a month, and over 9,491 Tetra Byte (TB) of aggregated data consumption, RailWire WiFi at 746 railway stations across the country is only getting stronger.
- Network is provided by RailTel, a ‘Mini Ratna’ central PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) under the Ministry of Railways.
- It is turning railway stations into a platform for digital inclusion.
- For a modern handset, the speed can go as high as 40 Mbps for the initial 30 minutes of unhindered open access, which is unmatched on any other network.
- Backbone capacity of each of these railway stations is 1 GBPS.
- Of the 746 railway stations, RailTel has provided high speed WiFi at 414 A, A1 and C category railway stations across the country, in association with Google as the technology partner.
Aadhaar is now passport to Nepal and Bhutan :-
- Aadhaar cards are now valid travel documents for Indians under 15 and over 65 travelling to Nepal and Bhutan.
- Indians other than those in the two age brackets will not be able to use Aadhaar to travel to the two neighbouring countries, for which no visas are needed.
- Earlier, persons over 65 and under 15 could show their PAN card, driving licence, Central Government Health Service (CGHS) card or ration card, but not the Aadhaar, to prove their identity and visit the two countries.
- Emergency certificate and identity certificate issued by the Indian Embassy in Nepal will be valid for single journey for travelling back to India.
Biodynamic agriculture :-
- Biodynamic agriculture is a new method of farming.
- It evolved from the lectures of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in 1924, incorporates principles of oriental philosophy and astronomy.
GS Paper 2 Source: The Hindu
Topic : Figures for long-term visas to minorities don’t add up
Context
Collectors empowered
- In 2015, the Home Ministry had empowered the District Collectors in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to grant citizenship and naturalisation certificates to the non-Muslim migrants from the three neighbouring countries under Section 5 and 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Citizenship Act, 1955
- Under this, one of the grounds to acquire citizenship by naturalisation is that the applicant must have resided in India during the past 12 months and for 11 out of 14 years in India.
Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019
- It proposes to grant citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh
- Time Frame: Person who came to India before December 31, 2014
- Bill passed by the Lok Sabha on January 8 and is pending in the Rajya Sabha.
- Bill proposes to relax the duration from 11 to seven years, only for persons belonging to the six religions from the three countries.
- It will help such people who do not have any document by not treating them as “illegal migrants”.
- Bill faces resistance in Assam as it would negate the Assam Accord of 1985 paving the way for giving citizenship, mostly to illegal Hindu migrants from Bangladesh.
GS Paper 1 Source: The Hindu
Topic : ‘Kumbh will generate Rs. 1.2 lakh crore revenue’
Context
- Pilgrimage flush with funds; will create short-term jobs: CII
- Although the Kumbh Mela is spiritual and religious in nature, the economic activities associated with it generate employment for over six lakh workers across various sectors, CII said in a report.
- Hospitality sector aims at employing 2,50,000 people, airlines and airports around 1,50,000 and tour operators around 45,000.
- Employment numbers in eco-tourism and medical tourism are being estimated at 85,000
- There will be around 55,000 new jobs in the unorganized sector comprising of tour guides, taxi drivers, interpreters, volunteers etc.
- Massive number of foreign tourists from various countries like Australia, UK, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, New Zealand, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, the Kumbh is a festival of the world
- Neighbouring states like Rajasthan, Uttarkhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh will also benefit from the enhanced revenue generation with a large number of national and foreign tourists expected to explore other destinations
Job Creation -> Economic Benefit
UNESCO - Kumbh connection
- Kumbh Mela inscribed in 2017 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
What is Kumbh ?
- Kumbh Mela (the festival of the sacred Pitcher) is the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth, during which participants bathe or take a dip in a sacred river.
- The festival is held at Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik every four years by rotation and is attended by millions of people irrespective of caste, creed or gender. Its primary bearers, however, belong to akhadas and ashrams, religious organizations, or are individuals living on alms.
- As it is held in four different cities in India, it involves different social and cultural activities, making this a culturally diverse festival.
GS Paper 2 Source: The Hindu
Topic : CIC selection arbitrary, say RTI activists
Context
- In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on August 27, 2018, the DoPT itself had said the search committee was to shortlist candidates “out of the applications received.”
- Shortlisting has been done outside the list of applicants, in violation of procedure laid out by the department in their own affidavit to the Supreme Court.
- RTI activists have termed the recent appointment of former Law Secretary Suresh Chandra as a Central Information Commissioner an “arbitrary process” as he had not applied for the position.
- According to files recently made public by the Department of Personnel and Training, he was not on the list of 280 applicants. But he was among the 14 short-listed.
Central Information Commission (CIC)
- CIC is set up under the Right to Information Act.
- Quasi judicial body and designated statutory authority to receive and inquire into complaint from any person.
- It hears appeals from information-seekers who have not been satisfied by the public authority, and also addresses major issues concerning the RTI Act and plays key role in maintaining transparency in system of governance essential for healthy democracy.
GS Paper 3 Source: The Hindu
Topic : As you reap, so shall you add value to farm produce
Context: (This can be taken as case study for agriculture)
- Fusion of traditional practices, management expertise and technology has taken agriculture to a higher level at a farm located in Udayampuli Village of Tirunelveli district.
- It is networking with nearby villages to improve productivity and income of small and marginal farmers.
- Adopted a biodiversified cropping pattern i.e. paddy, fruits and vegetables.
- It has interconnected drip irrigation network with six percolation ponds, six open wells and 28 borewells, in addition to rainwater harvesting infrastructure.
- The water grid, which can be operated with an Android phone, ensures uninterrupted supply.
- The organic, bio and biodynamic manure and pesticides produced at the farm are tested in an in-house laboratory.
- The dairy unit provides the ingredients for manure production.
- Units are being set up to process fruits, vegetables; produce herbal powders and cold-pressed oils.
How this has been achieved ?
GS Paper 3 Source: The Hindu
Topic : RBI: on the horns of a dilemma
Context:
- In the February review meeting - RBI must the central bank cut interest rates or only change its stance in the February policy review.
- December retail inflation came in at 2.19% on the back of softening food and fuel prices.
- Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 6.5% in the policy review meeting in December.
- A neutral stance would mean there is a scope for interest rates to move either way, as opposed to calibrated tightening which means rates can only go up.
- Food inflation has turned negative since October 2018 and fuel inflation has been highly volatile, inflation, excluding food and fuel, remains sticky at close to 6%.
- There is the expectation of a major announcement from the government for the rural economy due to the stress faced by the farm sector. If that happens, then RBI would like to watch for implications on inflation as well as on fiscal deficit.
- Debate is going on as to whether the government should stick to the fiscal deficit target of 3.3% of GDP when the economy actually needs a stimulus to boost growth.
- There are some distressed sectors like agriculture, MSMEs which are in need of desperate support from the government. The current situation specifically says liquidity is required in the economy, distress sectors need to be taken care of, banks need to expand credit, and there is a resource constraint from the government side. There is a scope for expansionary policy when inflation is under control.
If the RBI decides to lower the interest rate, a change in stance to ‘neutral’ will lead to:
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