Simply you can learn IAS (UPSC) via Our 'TAMIL' language.
மொழியால் IAS ஆவது தள்ளி போகக்கூடாது , தமிழா உன்னால் முடியும் . மத்திய தேர்வாணையம் ஒன்றும் மலைப்பான விஷயம் அல்ல.
Bringing relief to millions of Non Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has said that Aadhaar as an identity document should be sought only from those who are eligible for the unique ID as per the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
This means that government agencies can now exempt those belonging to these categories from furnishing Aadhaar identity for availing services as they are not eligible for enrolling for the unique ID.
The circular stated that the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2017 and the Income Tax Act, 1961 clearly stipulate that the linking of Bank Accounts and PAN respectively is for those persons who are eligible to enrol for Aadhaar as per the Aadhaar Act, 2016.
And individuals who were not assigned Aadhaar numbers shall be offered alternate and viable means of delivery of subsidy, benefit or service.
What made the situation tricky for NRIs, PIOs and OCIs is that the Act as it stands today, allows only “residents” of India to enroll for the unique identity.
The circular said the UIDAI had received several representations from these sections, informing about difficulties faced by them as various authorities demanded Aadhaar from them in respect of various services/benefits etc like maintaining existing NRE and NRO bank accounts and appearance by students in different exams in India. The Provisions of the Aadhar Act, 2016
The Act says every resident shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number by submitting his demographic information and biometric information by undergoing the process of enrolment.
Who is a resident is further defined as an individual who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to one hundred and eighty-two days or more in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment.
Ican? What do they do and why did they win the 2017 Nobel ☮️ Prize?
Anti-nuclear weapons campaign group says the 'spectre of nuclear conflict looms large' after winning Nobel prize The group holds protests in 101 countries around the world Ican "The Nobel Peace Prize 2017 has been awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons"
The group - known by its acronym Ican - is a coalition working to mobilise people in countries around the world to pressure governments to ban nuclear weapons. Inspired by the progress in banning the use of land mines, Ican was first formed in Australia but officially launched in Austria in 2007. It now operates in 101 countries. NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WON BY CAMPAIGN TO ABOLISH NUCLEAR WEAPONS With the support of high profile figures including the former UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, Ican has campaigned for the establishment of a special UN working group on advancing nuclear disarmament. The biggest milestone in the history of Ican came this year with the adoption by 122 countries of the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The treaty was hailed as the result of collective efforts by Ican alongside the Red Cross, UN agencies and individual countries. It is hoped the treaty, which prohibits states from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, or stockpiling nuclear weapons, will lead to the elimination of all nuclear arms. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Ican was awarded the peace prize for its work “to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons”. ICAN campaign video: It's time to ban nuclear weapons
Commenting on their win, Ican said: “This is a time of great global tension, when fiery rhetoric could all too easily lead us, inexorably, to unspeakable horror. The spectre of nuclear conflict looms large once more. “If ever there were a moment for nations to declare their unequivocal opposition to nuclear weapons, that moment is now. “We applaud those nations that have already signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and we urge all others to follow their lead. “It offers a pathway forward at a time of alarming crisis. Disarmament is not a pipe dream, but an urgent humanitarian necessity.”
According to a report by the the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations Foundation, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), around 20.8 million children across the world are still missing their first measles vaccine dose
More than half these unvaccinated children live in six countries (1) Nigeria (3.3 million), (2) India (2.9 million), (3) Pakistan (2.0 million), (4) Indonesia (1.2 million), (5) Ethiopia (0.9 million), and (6) Democratic Republic of the Congo (0.7 million) India’s situation India has the second highest population of children who haven’t been vaccinated against measles It happened despite the government’s focused campaign to check the highly contagious infection Measles Measles is a highly contagious infection caused by the measles virus
Initial signs and symptoms typically include fever, often greater than 40 °C (104.0 °F), cough, runny nose, and inflamed eyes
Two or three days after the start of symptoms, small white spots may form inside the mouth, known as Koplik’s spots.
A red, flat rash which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms.
Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days.[5][6] Complications occur in about 30% and may include diarrhea, blindness, inflammation of the brain, and pneumonia among others
It expects the poor to pay the bills without providing any subsidy to ease their burden Even to the best of their abilities the poor would often not be in a position to pay regular electricity bills, which in turn could result in disconnection The government has conveniently overlooked the fact that for the poor in some States, the inability to pay an electricity bill is a big impediment This new scheme is just a way of refurbishing the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) The DDUGJY scheme of rural electrification launched in July 2015, which aimed to electrify all un-electrified villages by May 2018 Was DDUGJY successful?: Under DDUGJY, the government managed to electrify 14,701 villages while 2,760 villages remain un-electrified; out of these, work is still in progress in a total of 2,611 villages However, out of the 14,701 villages, only in 8%, i.e. 1,198 villages, do all households have connectivity The Saubhagya scheme may only be able to plug the gaps and address the issues of entry barrier, last mile connectivity and release of connections But it can guarantee neither regular electricity supply nor continuation of those connections in case of non-payment A free electricity connection may provide some relief as far as the financial burden is concerned However, expecting poor households to bear the recurring burden of bills as per the prevailing tariff of DISCOMs is unimaginable Issue with the definition of an ‘electrified village’ Even if we take into consideration the fact that so many villages have been “electrified”, the next point of contention is the definition used According to the definition, a village is considered to be electrified if 10% households have an electricity connection and related basic infrastructure Furthermore, even in these 10% of households, there is no promise of minimum hours of supply Regular supply of electricity is not possible in current circumstances Even if the programme is successful, hypothetically, and all households are provided a connection, there would still be the problem of regular supply Industry estimates suggest that this scheme would potentially require an additional 28,000 MW and additional energy of about 80,000 million units per annum, which is roughly 7% of India’s current installed power capacity There is a power shortage even at this moment leading to scheduled and unscheduled load shedding, often up to 10 hours or more The problem is graver still in interior rural India The way forward certainly, Saubhagya has some positives such as provision for households outside the reach of grid lines However, our contention is that the policy has set a standard for itself without enough focus on its capacity to deliver results The policy statement echoes the commitment to facilitate economic growth and social development.
Difference between Bhagat Singh and other Freedom Fighters
1) He initially sought revolutionary mass movement against the colonial rule, many other prominent leaders resorted to non-violent struggle under Gandhi at the latter end of the freedom movement.
2) He later resorted to individual act of Revolutionary Terrorism because of rapid change of time and shocked at the death of Lala Lajpat Rai. Though he preferred mass struggle, he wanted to educate the people through his deed. It was considered as "Propaganda by deed".
But other stalwarts believed in long-struggle which involved "S-T-S" (Struggle Truce Struggle).
3) Propagated Anarchism- abolition of state, freedom from obsession of religion, money or other worldly desire. Though seemed quite radical he explained that absence of "state" did not mean absence of "order", but merely absence of chains on the body or control.
4) While Bhagat Singh abjured religion in political affairs and was conscient not to discriminate between his comrades. Other freedom fighters like Tilak, though with best intentions, had resorted to Hindu religious ceremonies for enlisting mass support. This had lead to religious conscience in the masses.
5) Bhagat Singh did not discriminate between his subjects and wrote against overt beliefs in God. Gandhiji being a conservative Hindu upheld religion in political affairs by saying that politics without ethics (religion) is dangerous.
Bhagat singh strand of nationalism was of a progressive one,wherein he wanted a dismantle of all systems which make exploitation of one man by another possible. He stood for emancipation of a nation from all its social evils emphasising on rationality,secularism and personally adhering to atheism
Cropping pattern indicates the proportion of area under different crops at a point of time. Cropping activities go on all the year round in India provided water is available for the crops. In India, the cropping pattern follows two distinct seasons; Kharif season from July to October and Rabi season from October to March. The crops grown between March to June called zaid. The crops are grown solo or mixed (mixed-cropping) or in a definite sequence (rotational cropping). The land may be occupied by one crop during one session (mono cropping) or by two crops during one season (double cropping) which may be grown in a year in a sequence. We explain these cropping systems below.
Types of Cropping Systems
(a) Mono-cropping: Mono-cropping or monoculture refers to growing of only one crop on a piece of land year after year. It may be due to climatological and socioeconomic conditions or due to specialization of a farmer in growing a particular crop, e.g., under rainfed conditions, groundnut or cotton or sorghum are grown year after year due to limitation of rainfall. In canal irrigated areas, under waterlogged condition, rice crop is grown as it is not possible to grow any other crop.
(b) Multiple-cropping: Growing two or more crops on the same piece of land in one calendar year is known as multiple-cropping. It is intensification of cropping in time and space dimensions, i.e., more number of crops within a year and more number of crops on the same piece of land at any given period. It includes intercropping, mixed-cropping and sequence cropping. Double-cropping is a case where the land is occupied by two crops, which are grown in a year in sequence.
(c) Inter-cropping: Inter-cropping is growing of two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land with a definite row pattern. For example, growing setaria and redgram in 5:1 ratio. Thus, cropping intensity in space dimension is achieved. Inter-cropping was originally practiced as an insurance against crop failure under rainfed conditions. At present, the main objective of inter-cropping is higher productivity per unit area in addition to stability in production. Intercropping system utilizes resources efficiently and their productivity is increased.
(1) The time of peak nutrient demands of component crops should not overlap. (2) Competition for light should be minimum among the component crops. (3) Complementarity should exist between the component crops. (4) The differences in maturity of component crops should be at least 30 days. (d) Mixed-cropping: Mixed-cropping is growing of two or more crops simultaneously intermingled without any row pattern. It is a common practice in most of dry land tracts of India. Seeds of different crops are mixed in certain proportion and are sown. The objective is to meet the family requirement of cereals, pulses and vegetables. (e) Sequence-Cropping: Sequence cropping can be defined as growing of two or more crops in a sequence on the same piece of land in a farming year. Depending on the number of crops grown in a year it is called double, triple or quadruple cropping involving two, three and four crops respectively. In addition to the above systems, relay cropping and ratoon cropping are also in existence. Relay cropping refers to planting of the succeeding crop before harvesting the preceding crops. Ratoon cropping or ratooning refers to raising a crop with re-growth coming out of roots or stalks after harvest of the crop. (f) Integrated Farming System: Integrated farming system is a holistic method of combining several enterprises like cropping system, diarying, piggery, poultry, fishery, bee-keeping, etc. in a harmonious way so as to complement each other.
The objective is efficient resource utilisation and maximization of profit in such a way so as to cause least damage to soil and environment.
Much awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) is set to be implemented from July L", 2017. It is being lauded as the most important tax reform since 1947. Following is a brief overview of GST:
Salient Features of GST:
(i) The GST would be applicable on the supply of goods or services as against the present concept of tax on the manufacture or sale of goods or provision of services. It would be a destination based consumption tax. This means that tax would accrue to the State or the Union Territory where the consumption takes place. It would be a dual GST with the Centre and States simultaneously levying tax on a common tax base.
(ii) The GST would apply to all goods other than. alcoholic liquor for human consumption and five petroleum products, viz. petroleum crude, motor spirit (petrol), high speed diesel, natural gas and aviation turbine fuel. It would apply to all services barring a few to be specified. The GST would replace a host of indirect taxes such as - Central Excise Duty, Service Tax, Central Surcharges and Cesses so far as they relate to supply of goods and services, State VAT, Luxury Tax, Purchase Tax etc.
(iii) The list of exempted goods and services would be common for the Centre and the States.
(iv) Threshold Exemption: Taxpayers with an aggregate turnover in a Financial Year up to RS.20 lakhs would be exempted from tax. For eleven Special Category States, like those in the North-East and the hilly States, the exemption threshold shall be Rs. 10 lakhs.
(v) An Integrated tax (IGST) would be levied and collected by the Centre on inter-State supply of goods and services. Accounts would be settled periodically between the Centre and the States to ensure that the SGST/UTGST portion of IGST is transferred to the destination State where the goods or Services are eventually consumed.
(vi) Use of Input Tax Credit (ITC): Taxpayers shall be allowed to take credit of taxes paid on inputs (input tax credit) and utilize the same for payment of output tax.
(vii) Exports and supplies to SEZ shall be treated as zero-rated supplies.
(viii) Import of goods and services would be treated as inter-State supplies and would be subject to IGST in addition to the applicable customs duties. The IGST paid shall be available as ITC for further transactions.
Benefits
1. GST aims to make India a common market with common tax rates and procedures and remove the economic barriers, thus paving the way for an integrated economy at the national level. GST is a win-win situation for all the stakeholders of industry, government and the consumer. It will lower the cost of goods and services, give a boost to the economy and make the products and services globally competitive.
2. GST is largely technology driven. It will reduce the human interface to a great extent and this would lead to speedy decisions. GST will bring more transparency to indirect tax laws.
3. GST will give a major boost to the 'Make in India' initiative of the Government of India by making goods and services produced in India competitive in the National as well as International market.
4. Under the GST regime, exports will be zerorated in entirety unlike the present system, where refund of some taxes may not take place due to fragmented nature of indirect taxes between the Centre and the States. This will boost Indian exports in the international market.
5. GST is expected to bring buoyancy to the Government Revenue by widening the tax base and improving the taxpayer compliance. GST is likely to improve India's ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Index and is estimated to increase the GDP growth by 1.5 to 2 per cent.
6. The taxpayers would not be required to maintain records and show compliance with a myriad of indirect tax laws of the Central and the State Governments. They would only need to maintain records and show compliance in respect of Central GST, State GST and Integrated GST.
Other provisions of GST:
(i) Valuation of goods shall be done on the basis of transaction value i.e. the invoice price, which is the current practice under the Central Excise and Customs Laws. Taxpayers are allowed to issue supplementary or revised invoice in respect of a supply made earlier.
(ii) New modes of payment of tax are being introduced, viz. through credit and debit cards, National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS). (iii) E-Commerce companies are required to collect tax at source in relation to any supplies made through their online platforms, under fulfillment model, at the rate notified by the Government.
(iv) An antiprofiteering measure has been incorporated in the GST law to ensure that any benefits on account of reduction in tax rates results in commensurate reduction in prices of such goods/ services.
IT preparedness:
Putting in place a robust IT network is an absolute must for implementation of GST. A Special Purpose Vehicle called the GSTN has been set up to cater to the needs of GST. The functions of the GSTN would, inter alia, include: (i) facilitating registration; (ii) forwarding the returns to Central and State authorities; (iii) computation and settlement of IGST; (iv) matching of tax payment details with banking network; (v) providing various MIS reports to the Central and the State Governments based on the taxpayer return information; (vi) providing analysis of taxpayers' profile; and (vii) running the matching engine for matching, reversal and reclaim of input tax credit. The target date for introduction of GST is 1st July, 2017. The GSTN will also make available standard software for small traders to keep their accounts in that, so that straight away, it can be uploaded as their monthly returns on GSTN website. This will make compliance easier for small traders.
All States/UTs except the State of Jammu & Kashmir, are ready for roll-out of GST with effect from 1st July, 2017
As of 21st June, 2017, all the States and Union Territories (having assemblies), except the State of Jammu & Kashmir, have approved the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Act. The State of Kerala issued an Ordinance approving State GST Act while the State of West Bengal had issued an Ordinance in this regard on 15thJune, 2017. Now the only one State that is yet to pass the State GST Act is the State of J&K. Thus, almost the entire country including all the 30 States/UTs are now on board and ready for the smooth roll-out of GST with effect from 1st July, 2017.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).
1) E- commerce: Placing great limitation on digital policy making by any country in the name of promoting E-commerce.
Problems for India:
India is still stuck in the IT realities of yesterday.
India is on a threshold of a digital society.
2) Intellectual property: Monopolies are adopted at this meeting , the repercussion may be permanently damaging for people’s access to affordable medicines like in generic drugs by India. 3) Data exclusivity:Japan and korea demanding the period of no less than 5 years .Data exclusivity creates a barrier to entry for generic producers .India has purposely not adopted it . 4) Procurement policy:pressure to free procurement policy to unlock over 300 billion dollar market by other countries to India. India is not a signatory to the govt procurement agreement within the WTO framework because it wants to retain its policy space to meet its development need through public procurement process. 5) On tariff liberalization:China wants hive level of elimination of duties under it that will lead to surge of Chinese products in the market.
Suggestion:
1) A well articulated and diplomatic policy needed. 2) Need of the understanding of current global situation in the context of domestic growth.
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