Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE:22-05-15
S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / ESSENCE OF THE ARTICLE1. / PMs Dhaka visit to yield road, port connectivity (Page 10) / a) I.R / a) India and Bangladesh will sign a series of agreements during PM Modis visit to Dhaka in June, ushering in plans for road, rail and port connectivity and energy tie-ups.
2. / PM has achieved aims of China visit, says Gen. Singh (Page 10) / a) I.R / a) Minister of State for External Affairs General (retd) V.K. Singh said that India has made substantial progress in giving the way for resolving outstanding issues with China.
3. / India may offer credit for building houses in land released by Sri Lankan Army (Page 12) / a) I.R / a) India (which is funding the construction of 50,000 houses for internally-displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka) may offer a line of credit, this time for building houses in lands released by the Army from the high security zones.
4. / March of the IS (Page 8) / a) International / a) The Islamic States recent takeover of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, followed by its seizure of the historic city of Palmyra in Syria suggests that rumours of the impending demise of the armed group are vastly exaggerated.
5. / The distant goal of cooperative federalism (Page 9) / a) National / a) For working Indias federal system, one has to go beyond brute parliamentary majorities and struggle with the multilevel govt-opposition matrix, which is the architecture of Centre-State power-sharing.
6. / RBI wins battle to keep debt management role (Pages 1 and 10) / a) National
b) Economy / a) With the Union Finance Ministry reworking its proposal for setting up the Public Debt Management Authority, the RBI has won its biggest battle in its 80-year history.
7. / Japan unveils $110 billion plan (Page 13) / a) Economy / a) Japan unveiled a plan to provide $110 billion in aid for Asian infrastructure projects, as China prepares to launch a new institutional lender that is seen as encroaching on the regional financial hit of Tokyo and its ally Washington.
8. / Nelong Valley opens for tourists first time since 1962 (Page 7) / a) Geography / a) The beautiful Nelong Valley near the India-China border (which was closed for civilians after the 1962 war) has been opened for tourists.
9. / Blue whales churn sea off Maharashtra (Page 7) / a) Geography / a) The blue whale is back in the sea off Maharashtra coast after a gap of almost a century. A mother-calf pair was recently spotted in the waters near Kunkeshwar in Sindhudurg district.
S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / BACKGROUND / IMPORTANT POINTS
1. / PMs Dhaka visit to yield road, port connectivity (Page 10) / a) I.R / a) India – Bangladesh relations
b) Indias projects in Bangladesh
c) Energy ties
d) Chinas projects in Bangladesh
e) Pyra deep-sea port project / a) India and Bangladesh will sign a series of agreements during PM Modis visit to Dhaka in June, ushering in plans for road, rail and port connectivity and energy tie-ups. Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina will flag off a Kolkata-Dhaka-Tripura bus service.
b) The two countries are in talks to set up bus links from Dhaka to Shillong and Guwahati, and may sign energy pacts to share power generated in the northeastern States.
c) Dismissing concerns about China (which had reportedly decided to invest in the Pyra deep-sea port project) as seeing ghosts in the neighbourhood, theHigh Commissioner said Bangladesh wanted a consortium of countries to invest in, and benefit from, the deep-sea port.
d) He said that India and Bangladesh should move to bridge the suspicion gap and put inter-regional connectivity first.
2. / PM has achieved aims of China visit, says Gen. Singh (Page 10) / a) I.R / a) India – China relations
b) Border dispute
c) Indias Look East or Act East policy / a) Minister of State for External Affairs General (retd) V.K. Singh said that India has made substantial progress in giving the way for resolving outstanding issues with China.
b) Referring to PM Modis recent visit to China, Mongolia and South Korea, he said Indias foreign policy has graduated from Look East to Act East.
c) He said an indication of improving relations between the two countries was the absence of incidents of border violations when Modi was in China.
d) On the issue of China continuing to show an incorrect map of India (excluding JK and Arunachal Pradesh), he said the issue has been raised diplomatically.
3. / India may offer credit for building houses in land released by Sri Lankan Army (Page 12) / a) I.R / a) India – Sri Lanka relations
b) Indias housing projects in Sri Lanka / a) India (which is funding the construction of 50,000 houses for internally-displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka) may offer a line of credit, this time for building houses in lands released by the Army from high security zones.
b) It is learnt that approximately, 52,000 houses are required to be constructed in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, where Tamils live in large numbers.
c) Explaining how UN agencies are providing help for those who want to start their lives afresh in the released lands, the Ministersaid his Ministry had releasedan amount of Rs 24 million to take care of immediaterequirements of the people.
4. / March of the IS (Page 8) / a) International / a) Islamic State (IS)
b) Syria and Iraq crisis
c) Palmyra
d) Ramadi / a) The ISs recent takeover of Iraqi city of Ramadi, followed by its seizure of the historic city of Palmyra in Syria suggests that rumours of the impending demise of the armed group are vastly exaggerated.
b) Months of aerial bombing by US-led forces may have weakened the spine of insurgent organisation and led to the loss of some of the vast areas it holds across Iraq and Syria.
c) The resistance shown by Kurdish fighters both in Syria and Iraq belonging to Peoples Protection Units and Kurdistan Regional Govt respectively has forced the IS to retreat from places such as Kobane and the adjoining Kurd-held territory close to Mosul in Iraq.
d) The group has also suffered significant losses in Tikrit, the former stronghold of ex-President Saddam Hussein. But these losses apart, the resilience of the group has been evident in its capture of Ramadi in largely Sunni-populated and vast desert province of Anbar.
e) The weaknesses of the Iraqi army (still to recover from its disbandment following US invasion) are evident. PM Haider al-Abadis resort to help from the radical Shia militias might have the support of the Sunni councils in Anbar, but this could only worsen what is clearly a conflict that has its origins in heightened sectarian violence in post-US-invasion Iraq.
f) The IS has cunningly used as buffers vast territories in Syria and Iraq that it controls. The Syrian regime has been fighting too many battles against a variety of rebel forces. It lost some to rebel groups supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey in Idlib recently, and its tactical retreats from IS-held territory in the past have come to haunt Bashar-al Assads forces with the loss of Palmyra.
g) The ancient city (which used to be a Silk route hub) is rich in historic and cultural artefacts; the IS is expected to engage in destruction here as well. It is clear that parcelled form of offensive action against the IS is not working well.
h) The IS is bound to collpase; it cannot forever sustain itself against a multiplicity of forces - the Syrians, the Iraqi army, the Kurds and the US-led allies. But as long as there is no concerted action from all these forces targeting the IS in any cohesive manner, it will remain resilient and leave even more brutal trails of destruction in its wake than it has until now.
5. / The distant goal of cooperative federalism (Page 9) / a) National / a) Cooperative federalism
b) National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog
c) Planning Commission
d) National Development Council (NDC)
e) Interstate Council
f) Article 263
g) Finance Commission / a) PM Modi seeks to carve his place in history as the man who righted the wrongs in history and gave back to Indians a sense of pride in their country, a pride he claims they did not have before. He seeks to transform India beyond recognition, so that history will record a before and after so striking that the past would pale into insignificance.
b) Hence, the NITI Aayog, which is slowly unfolding as a half-baked clone of the institution it sought to replace. Visualised as a vehicle of new cooperative federalism, it was initially projected as a think tank that would throw the overbearing financial allocations-cum-approvals role that so angered CMs.
c) On the one hand, what is projected is a patriarchal joint family model presided over by a good will Centre. There is also another model of States competing to deliver better governance under a new dispensation based on mutual trust and cooperation. However, States often accuse Centre of not practising what it addresses, notably when it comes to fiscal discipline and downsizing govt.
d) Superimposed on Aayog is a Council of CMs (similar to the NDC), which presumably died a natural death along with the Commission that wished it into existence. We now have a Plan (2012-17) up for mid-term review. Groups of CMs are working on blueprints for transforming India, notably with fewer central schemes and greater autonomy for the States.
e) If Modi is serious about cooperative federalism, there is now a possible opening for a development in reducing central ministries, which have become bloated on the back of central schemes.
f) For a long time federalists have been demanding that the Centre cut down or totally wind up some of the ministries that deal with subjects in State List. With fewer schemes in these areas, cooperative federalism demands that the responsibility for managing them also be shifted where it rightfully belongs, that is, the State and local levels.
g) It is significant that the legitimacy of the two bodies that have been created to push forward the new federalism idea is again rooted in a Union Cabinet Resolution rather than being located in Constitution. The existing and largely underutilised Interstate Council (created under Article 263 and mandated to deal with coordination between States) has been totally ignored. This raises question of what the new vision of cooperative federalism entails, beyond coordination.
h) Sharing of powers and responsibilities between the 3 levels of govt is a key element of the concept, which involves participative policymaking. This is particularly important in areas of concurrent responsibility, where the Centre has had a tendency to ride roughshod over the States by occupying the common legislative space.
i) A reform of the seventh schedule lists in the direction of greater empowerment of States would be consistent with the logic of increased financial transfers and cooperative federalism. Locating the right level for making and implementing policy is a central feature of the cooperative responsibility matrix.
j) An idea which was added to the initial mix of objectives stated by Modi was competitive federalism, where States would struggle with each other to attract investments and also hopefully provide better public goods and services. What has become increasingly evident is that the States are unevenly equipped to engage in fair competition, since regional disparities in the provision of basic needs and social sector services are very large.
k) Moreover, there are vast differences in governance capabilities and while special category States,the Planning Commission may have weakened away with it, the need for asymmetric federalism remains. Equity may not be central to the mandate of the Finance Commission but no govt which supports cooperative federalism can afford to ignore it.
l) As the NITI Aayog was finding its feet and the Union govt was preparing its first full budget, the 14th Finance Commission gave a decisive push towards greater devolution of financial resources towards the States. It simultaneously occupied the resource-allocation space vacated by the Planning Commission by transferring a substantial portion of revenues directly to the States. It thus shaped the direction in which the central govt could now move towards cooperative federalism.
m) A key element in strengthening cooperative federalism is the respect for the mandate of elected govts, even those run by opposition parties. In an era where the party system is fragmented along federal lines, the need is still felt to include State parties in federal coalitions, even when technically not necessary. The way alliance partners are treated thus becomes an important element in federal functioning.
n) The 2014 State Assembly elections showed that even long-standing allies are not immune to being at receiving end of coercive tactics. They now see the central majoritys expansionist ambitions as a threat to their own continued existence. Under these circumstances, cooperative federalism with opposition-ruled States becomes an altogether more difficult proposition, given absence of a viable working relationship.
o) The performance in Modis first year of office does not hold forth the promise of a system where power would be devolved to the people through an effective decentralisation and devolution package going all the way down to local bodies of self-government.
p) For working Indias federal system, one has to go beyond brute parliamentary majorities and struggle with the multilevel govt-opposition matrix, which constitutes the architecture of federal power-sharing. It is far from clear whether Modi has either the will or the inclination to make any decisive moves in this direction.
6. / RBI wins battle to keep debt management role (Pages 1 and 10) / a) National
b) Economy / a) Public Debt Management Authority (PDMA)
b) RBI Act / a) With the Union Finance Ministry reworking its proposal for setting up PDMA, the RBI has won its biggest battle in its 80-year history.
b) The authority will be set up through an executive order. The Finance Ministry has put on backburner its earlier move of amending the RBI Act for setting up the authority. The new plan is to move amendments to the RBI Act for statutory status to the authority and for full transfer of control not before another year or two.
c) It has now been decided that the transfer of control over the management of govt debt from RBI will not be complete. The RBI has opposed the Ministrys earlier proposal of complete transfer of control to the authority and not wanting to adopt a confrontational position, the Finance Minister has decided not to disturb the RBI set-up.
d) In Parliament last month, Union Finance Minister Jaitley withdrew the amendments to the RBI Act announced in his Budget speech in February.
e) With the RBI retaining control over the Centres borrowings, Governor Rajans views appear to have prevailed.
7. / Japan unveils $110 billion plan (Page 13) / a) Economy / a) Asian Development Bank (ADB)
b) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
c) World Bank
d) G7
e) G20 / a) Japan unveiled a plan to provide $110 billion in aid for Asian infrastructure projects, as China prepares to launch a new institutional lender that is seen as encroaching on the regional financial hit of Tokyo and its ally Washington.
b) The amount of Japanese funds (to be invested over five years) tops the expected $100 billion capitalisation of the AIIB, the China-sponsored lender scheduled to begin operations next year.
c) Japan said it wants to focus on high quality aid, for example, by helping recipients tap its expertise in reducing pollution while building roads and railways. Thats an implicit contract with the AIIB, whose projects Washington has said may not adequately safeguard the environment.
d) About half the funds will be extended by state affiliated agencies in charge of aid and loans and the rest in cooperation with ADB. Japan hopes the aid will help draw private funds to help meet the vast demand for infrastructure in Asia.
e) The US and Japan were caught off guard when a total of 57 countries, including Group of 7 members Britain, Germany and France jumped on board the AIIB bandwagon by March.
f) The two allies have stayed out of the China-led institution, seen as a rival to US-dominated World Bank and Japan-led ADB, citing concerns about transparency and governance - although Tokyo for one is keeping its options open.
g) Finance officials said Japans aid plan had long been in the works as part of a Group of 20 commit to meet global needs. But worried that Japan may look less pro-active than Beijing, Tokyo also wants to showcase its support for the region.
h) Japanese and Chinese finance officials will meet in Beijing on June 6 and may discuss the AIIB, but Tokyo looks unlikely to make a decision on joining any time soon.
8. / Nelong Valley opens for tourists first time since 1962 (Page 7) / a) Geography / a) Nelong Valley
b) Gangotri National Park
c) Snow leopard
d) Himalayan blue sheep
e) Tibetan Plateau / a) The beautiful Nelong Valley near the India-China border (which was closed for civilians after the 1962 war) has been opened for tourists. The valley (45 km ahead of the border) falls under the Gangotri National Park in Uttarkashi district.
b) At 11,600 feet, the valley is a cold desert, home to the snow leopard and Himalayan blue sheep and offering a view of the Tibetan Plateau.
9. / Blue whales churn sea off Maharashtra (Page 7) / a) Geography / a) Blue whales
b) Brydes whales / a) The blue whale is back in the sea off Maharashtra coast after a gap of almost a century. A mother-calf pair was recently spotted in the waters near Kunkeshwar in Sindhudurg district. The equally rare Brydes whales were sighted four times around the same time.
b) Blue whales are marine mammals and they are the largest animals on Earth. They can reach an average length of 23-27 metres, with the largest known being 33 metres.
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