UPPCS PRELIMS -2014 GENERAL STUDIES PAPER SOLUTION

Dear aspirants 

we are providing solution of uppcs 2014 prelims GS .you can give your coment and can discuss the answer

Analysis of GS Paper I

History	30 Questions(same Old pattern,factual,specialised)
Economics	30 Questions (current affair based and old data)
Geography	25 Questions(basic and Indian physical geo)
Current affairs	25 Questions(moderate and easy)
Science	25 Questions(easy)
Polity	15 Questions(easiest)
Total	150 Questions

UPPCS PRELIMS -2014 GENERAL STUDIES SOLUTION

Q NO	QUESTION HINTS	ANSWER AND REMARKS
1	Poverty as per hdr 2013 multidimensional	b)The most recent survey data available for estimating MPI figures for India were collected in 2005/2006. In India 53.7 percent of the population lived in multidimensional poverty (the MPI ‘head count’)
2	Bimal  jalan panel	b) bank licences
3	Theme of wdr 2010	d) development and next generation
4	Nalanda project	c) min pf minority affairs
5	Green index	c) world bank
6	Wto president after lamy	c) Robert az
7	Federal court in india	d) none
8	Indo pak trade fair	b)jalandhar
9	12th FYP GROWTH OF AGRI	B) 4%
10	MATCHING TYPE,FOOD GROWTH,MILK PRD,FISHERIES,FERTILIZERS	A)
11	TRYSEM	A)
12	BAHINI DARBAR	D) REWA ,MP
13	INFRA INVEST MENT	C)500 BILLION
14	CHIEF ECONOMIST,1ST INDIAN	C) K BASU
15	RURAL TOURISM	A)SIKKIM
16	HIGHEST NO OF BPL	C) UP
17	NODAL AGENCY FOR POVERTY	D) PC
18	MINERAL NOT FOUND IN UP	B) MICA
19	RIDF MINISTRY	under min of AGRI,maintained by nabard
20	HIGHEST MILK PRODUCTION 2011-12	D)PUNJAB
21	VISION 2020	C)ECONOMIC DVPT
22	VICIOUS CYCLE OF POVERT	nurkse
23	AGRI CONTRIB IN UPSGDP	B)24.5
24	MATCH,SSA,SB,OBB,NLM	D
25	SANDI	C) HARDOI
26	ASIATIC WILD DOG	D)VULNERABLE
26	NO OF AGREEMENT IN AGENDA 21	A)4
27	ABC INDEX	education
28	RESPONSIBLE FOR EXTINCTION
29	Bio diversity rich place	a)western ghat
30	Area under forest	c)33%
31	No of agro climate	c)9
32	Air press	d) summer
33	Ozone day	a)
34	Green muffler	c)noise pollution
35	Largest ecosystem	a)ocean
36	methane	B,paddy field
37	neeri	A,nagpur
38	Bio park	a)lucknow
39	Env protection act	b)1986
40	1st NP	B,CORBETT NP
41	NOT SECONDARY POLLUTANT	B)SMOG
42	PERIYAR NP	B
43	UV LIGHT	D)DERMAL
44	SLEEP APNEA	C)Sleep apnea is a type of sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing or instances of shallow or infrequent breathing during sleep
45	OZONE PROTECT	B)UV
46	BIODEGRADEBLE POLLUTANT	B.SEEWAGE
47	CATH LAB	C)CARDIOLOGY
48	CEREBRAL PALSY	C) CHILDREN
49	HARMONE IN WOMEN	C)ESTROGEN
50	INSECT EMIT LIGHT FROM BODY	B)BIOLUMINESENCE
51	BIODIVERSITY MEANS	C)ALL ANIMAL AND PLANTS
52	BIOLOGICAL RESURFACING	A)KNEE
53	CORONARY ARTERY BY PASS	A)
54	MATCH,B12,HAEMOGLOBIN,CHLOROPHYLL	A)
55	IMAGE THROUGH MIRROR	B) HALF
56	HOMI BHABHA AWARD	B,NUCLEAR
57	SOUND WAVES	D,VACCUM
58	NOT EXPLOSIVE	D)
59	ENERGY IN SATELLITE	B,SOLLAR CELL

60	RBI GOV WHO RESIGNED IN MARCH 14	B) CHAKRAVARTY
61	WORLD WOMEN SQUASH WINNER	LAURA
62	6TH CONSECUTIVE ZERO BUDGET	C)JK
63	ANNSHREE MERGED WITH NFS IN MARCH 14	C,DELHI
64	101ST SCIENCE CONG	D)JAMMU
65	VIDHAN SABHA ELECTION ALONG LS	C)AP,ODISHA,SIKKIM
66	1ST POST OFFICE SAVING ATM	C,CHANNAI
67	BOOK NARENDRA MODI	D) NM
68	INTERIM RAIL BUDGET	D)
69	THEME OF WEF IN JAN 14	A,
70	GULZAR NAME	A)SS KALRA
71	Tribe that voted first time in ls	a)shompen
72	ISIS	IRAQ AND SYRIA
73	BOKO HARAM	D)TERRORIST
74	LARGEST WARSHIP	A)VIKRAMADITYA
75	7TH CENTRAL PAY COMMC.	3 YEAR
76	FINAL MATCH OF IPL	bengluru
77	TEAM IN FIFA WC 2014	A)32
78	WHO DECLARE SE ASIA POLIO FREE	A)27TH MARCH
79	PAK TERRORIST ROUTE	A)K ,KATH,GORAKH
80	PENAL CODE OF MOROCCO	A)
81	SARNATH BUDDIST INSCRIPTION	A
82	WORLD BIGGEST STATE EXECUTOR	C)CHINA
83	PROTEM SPEAKER	B)KAMAL NATH
84	AURANG JEB BESTOWED TITLE OFSAHIBAT UZ ZAMANI	C)JAHAN ARA
85	BOUNDARY BETWEEN DELHI SULTAN AND MONGOLS IN 1306AD	C)INDUS
86	KHAWJA MOINUDDIN CHISTI AS DISCIPLE	D)USMAN
87	MAHBUB I  LLAHI	D)NIZAMUDIN AULIYA
88	LT GOVERNOR AT TIME OF PARTITION OF BENGAL	A)ANDREWS FRASER
89	AKABARNAMA COMPLETED IN	A)7YEAR
90	RENOVATION OF SUDARSHANA LAKE	D)RUDRADAMAN
91	DASTAR BANDAN	SUFI
92	COMMT ON JALLIANWALA MASSACRE	c r das
93	WHO LIFT BIER OF TILAK ALONG MAHATMA GANDHI	C
94	1ST EDITOR OF INDIAN OPINION	D)MANSUKH LAL
95	DADABHAI NAOROJI	3TIME
96	LAST SESSION ATTENDED BY TILAK	D)AMRITSAR
97	BRITISH AS STERILE AND PROSTITUTE BY MAHATMA GANDHI	C,HIND SWARAJ
98	BRITISH JOUNALIST h w navinson associated with	c)swadeshi
99	Event order Rowlett act,tilakjallianwala,amritsar	a)2341
100	Not matched pairs books	d)frank moraes
101	My interest in tilak	b)max mullar
102	Swaraj 1st time	a)1905
103	The man who divided india	c)rafiq
104	Now I shall take my mother milk	d)
105	Gandhi Irwin pact as consolation prize	a)
106	Matching vinoba,tilak,aruna,naidu	a)
107	Kakori case	b)g b pant
108	Indian independence bill received assent	a)18july
109	Karachi session as pinnacle for gandhi	c)
110	Surrender of nationalis in favour of communalism	b)
111	Match bhutiya,birhoar,toda	a)
112	Book match	a)Bhagat sigh
113	WHO SECONDED RESOLUTION ON PARTITION
114	SANCTUARY MATCHING	A)
115	TOTAL RAIL NETWORK LENTH	D)
116	BUSIEST OCEAN TRADE ROUTE	D)NORTH ATLANTIC
117	ICRISAT	D)HYDERBAD
118	ASSERTION AND REASON(RIVER ,DELTA)	A
119	RADCLIFF LINE	C)INDO-PAK
120	MOST URBANISED IN SOUTH ASIA	Pakistan,36%  ,making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia.
121	Highest sex ratio	a)TN
122	SUGARCANE PRODUCTION IN 2013	B)
123	HIGHEST DENSITY OF POPULATION	C,GHAZIABAD
124	NWW-1	A)ALLD-HALDIA
125	MATCH,WILLY-2,HURRICANES,TYPHOON	B)
126	URANIUM ORE	A)CANADA
127	JAPAN  IS SELF SUFFICIENT	C)
128	DRAINING PATTERN OF SOUTH INDIA	C)DENDRITIC
129	ELECTION COMMISSION REMOVAL	C
130	JUDGE RESIGN	B
131	RAJYA SABHA	C) 1,3
132	PARLIAMENT OF INDIA	A
133	LOWEST CHILD POPULATION IN STATE IN RURAL	C)
134	TEMPERATE GRASSLAND	C,STEPPE
135	FINANCIAL RELATION B/W CENTRE AND STATE	B
136	CONSTITUTIONAL ADVISOR	C,B N RAO
137	MEMBER OF DRAFTING COMMTT	C
138	NOT CONSTITUTIONAL BODY	B)PC
139	MIN NO OF DAYS	B)14DAYS
140	VILLAGE PANCHAYAT	B)ART 40
141	PAC	A)SPEAKER
142	JOINT SITTING	D,SPEAKER
143	LARGEST UT	delhi
144	BASIC STRUCTURE	D,NONE
145	REGIONAL PARTY CRITERIA	6%
146	STATE FORMATION	B)B)6%
147	NOMINATION IN LS	D)2
148	NOT RELATED TO PRI	A)PVNRAO

UPSC exam row: English marks not to be included for gradation, says Centre,यूपीएससी: मेरिट में नहीं जुड़ेंगे अंग्रेजी के मार्क्स

The Central government on Monday announced that English marks will not be included for gradation or merit in the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT).

“Government is of the opinion that in the Civil Services Preliminary examination, Paper-II, the marks of the question section on ‘English Language comprehension skills’ should not be included for gradation or merit,” MoS Personnel Jitendra Singh said seeking to mollify the agitating candidates.

He added that civil service aspirants who appeared for the exam in 2011 will be allowed one more attempt in 2015.

Jitendra Singh on Sunday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP chief Amit Shah at Gujarat Bhavan to deliberate on the ongoing UPSC row.

Parliament has witnessed repeated uproar and several adjournments in the past few days over the issue. Immediately after the statement, B Mahtab (BJD) and Dharmendra Yadav (SP) stood up demanding clarification whether Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) has been done away with.

However, the Minister stood up to say that he has said whatever he wanted to.

Earlier, opposition had demanded in the Rajya Sabha a definite time-frame from government to resolve the issue and served a privilege notice, forcing adjournment of the House.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Sharad Yadav (JD-U) accused the government of “going back on its promise” of resolving the issue expeditiously.

The students have been demanding that the pattern of CSAT be changed to give level-playing field to those coming from rural areas.

There are two compulsory papers of 200 marks each in the preliminary examination. These papers are also known as CSAT-I and CSAT-II.

The CSAT-II paper carries questions on comprehension, inter-personal skills including communication skills, logical reasoning and analytical ability, decision-making and problem-solving, general mental ability, basic numeracy, and English language comprehension skills (of Class X level).

Students have been objecting to the level of aptitude and English language questions being asked in the examination claiming they are much above the standard prescribed for the examination.

The civil services examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in three stages–preliminary, main, and interview — to choose candidates for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

यूपीएससी की सिविल सेवा परीक्षा में सी-सैट और प्रश्नपत्रों के अनुवाद को लेकर जारी गतिरोध के बीच सरकार ने संसद में ऐलान किया है कि ग्रेडिंग या मेरिट में अंग्रेजी के अंक को शामिल नहीं किया जाएगा। इसके साथ ही कार्मिक राज्यमंत्री ने लोकसभा में दिए बयान में कहा कि सीसैट खत्म नहीं होगा और लेकिन 2011 में सिविल सेवा परीक्षा देने वाले उम्मीदवारों को एक मौका और दिया जाएगा। हालांकि, छात्र इससे संतुष्ट नहीं है और वह कह रहे हैं कि इससे सिर्फ प्रारंभिक परीक्षा में राहत मिलेगी।

हिन्दी भाषी छात्रों को राहत देते हुए सरकार ने ऐलान किया कि सी-सैट में जो 20 मार्क्स के अंग्रेजी के सवाल होते हैं उसके नंबर मेरिट में नहीं जुड़ेंगे। जितेंद्र सिंह ने कहा कि छात्रों के व्यापक हित को देखते हुए सरकार का मत है कि सिविल सेवा परीक्षा की प्रारंभिक परीक्षा के प्रश्न पत्र में अंग्रेजी सेक्शन के अंक मेरिट में नहीं जुड़ेंगे। यानी अब प्रारंभिक परीक्षा में 400 के बजाय 380 अंकों के अाधर पर मेरिट लिस्ट तैयार होगी। अभी इस फैसले पर यूपीएससी की औपचारिक सहमति नहीं आई है। इस मामले में कार्मिक विभाग के सचिव अरविंद वर्मा की अध्यक्षता में बनाई गई तीन सदस्यों की कमिटी ने पिछले सप्ताह सरकार को रिपोर्ट सौंपी थी। इसमें सिविल सेवा परीक्षा के पैटर्न में बदलाव से बचने की सिफारिश की गई थी। कमिटी सी-सैट समेत सभी पेपरों के हिन्दी अनुवाद की गुणवत्ता में सुधार के अलावा किसी भी तरह के बदलाव के खिलाफ है।

इससे पहले आज यूपीएससी परीक्षा को लेकर जारी विवाद पर सोमवार को एक बार फिर राज्यसभा में हंगामा हुआ, जिसके कारण सदन की कार्यवाही बाधित हुई। राज्यसभा की कार्यवाही शुरू होने पर प्रश्नकाल के दौरान श्रीलंका के रक्षा मंत्रालय की वेबसाइट पर प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी और तमिलनाडु की मुख्यमंत्री जे. जयललिता पर अपमानजनक आलेख के कारण हंगामा हुआ। हालांकि विदेश मंत्री सुषमा स्वराज के इस आश्वासन के बाद यह मुद्दा शांत हो गया कि श्रीलंका के उच्चायुक्त को सम्मन भेजा जाएगा।

इसके बाद विपक्षी दलों के सदस्यों ने यूपीएससी की परीक्षाओं में भाषा के आधार पर भेदभाव का मुद्दा उठाया। केंद्रीय संसदीय कार्य राज्य मंत्री प्रकाश जावड़ेकर ने हालांकि सदन को आश्वस्त किया कि इस मुद्दे का समाधान जल्द ही निकाल लिया जाएगा। उन्होंने कहा, 'समस्या का समाधान उससे भी कम समय में ढूंढ लिया जाएगा, जितने की उम्मीद की जा रही है।'

मंत्री के इस बयान से हालांकि विपक्षी दल कांग्रेस, जनता दल (युनाइटेड), समाजवादी पार्टी (सपा) तथा अन्य दलों के सदस्य संतुष्ट नहीं हुए और वे सभापति के आसन के समक्ष पहुंचकर हंगामा करने लगे, जिसके बाद उप सभापति पी. जे. कुरियन ने सदन की कार्यवाही दोपहर दो बजे तक के लिए स्थगित कर दी थी। 

Breastfeeding: The Health Promoting and Life Saving Approach

For proper growth and development, every child needs to be provided adequate nutrition, proper care, love and affection, particularly during the early years of life. Breastfeeding lays the foundation for his/her healthy life not only during infancy/childhood, but during the later years too. Till six months of age, the baby needs just mother’s milk and nothing else; only the tonics or the medical supplements can be given to the child, as per the requirement.

For the first six months of life, mother’s milk provides the infant with all the nutrients that are needed for his/her optimal growth and development. Therefore, the infant should be exclusively breastfed during the first six months i.e. the baby should be fed only the mother’s milk and nothing else, not even water. Apart from nutrition, another valuable contribution of exclusive breastfeeding is that it fosters constant positive interaction between the mother and the child which helps in the emotional and psychological development of the infant with a direct positive impact on his/her brain development. While breastfeeding boosts physical and mental growth of an infant; after the age of six months, feeding the child with adequate and safe complementary foods becomes necessary, so as to bridge the gap between the nutritional needs of the child and the nutrients provided through the breast-milk. Thus, early/timely initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months coupled with complementary feeding (after the age of six months) along with continued breastfeeding are the cornerstones of child’s proper growth and development. If the children are healthy, the nation is healthy and this in turn results in improved productivity and economic growth of the country.

Breastfeeding is a natural and cost-effective method of feeding the neonates, infants and toddlers. Compared to artificial/top feeding, breastfeeding is affordable and does not even disturb the household budget. Breastfeeding enhances mental development, promotes learning and, thus, helps in facilitating universal primary education. It can give every child a fair start in life, ruling out gender inequality. It reduces the chances of child mortality in the first year of life by nearly 13 percent. It also reduces the risk of next pregnancy; and thus, helps in increasing the inter-pregnancy interval (child spacing). The chances of HIV transmission from the infected mother to the child are lowered if the child is given just the breast-milk during the first six months of life. Breastfeeding helps in lowering the production of pharmaceutical, plastic and aluminum wastes and thus, ensures environmental sustainability. It also promotes community partnership by bringing people from different areas, disciplines, expertise and experiences to work towards the common goal.

Globally, out of the 135 million babies born every year, 60 per cent do not receive optimal breastfeeding; and the price paid for suboptimal breastfeeding is massive. Apart from economics, suboptimal breastfeeding is associated with increased risk of infant/child mortality as well as infections and diseases affecting the psycho-social milieu of the community.

On the other hand, in case of individuals who receive breast milk and are exclusive breastfed during the first six months of life, the odds of developing non communicable diseases like diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases, hypertension etc. are far lesser as compared to those who do not receive the breast milk or are not exclusively breast fed for the first six months of life. And, these dividends of optimal breastfeeding are conferred to the individuals even after the child grows i.e. during their middle age/old age.

What a coincidence, breastfeeding and complementary feeding are linked to all the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were set more than two decades back (1990) by the various governments and the United Nations for fighting poverty as well as for promoting sustainable development by 2015. Therefore, by protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding, each of us can contribute to the MDGs in a substantial way by ensuring good health of our children and, thus, an overall development of our nation.

However, translating knowledge regarding appropriate breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices into adoption of these practices requires behavioural change among the mothers, their spouses, other family members particularly the mothers-in-law and thus, the community as a whole. Further, inculcating optimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices requires building up the mother’s confidence so that she can successfully breastfeed her baby. In addition, it is important that an enabling environment is created for the mother through a suitable back up support from the father/other family members, improved working conditions, as well as decreasing her household responsibilities, so that the nursing mother can devote enough time towards the breastfeeding activity. In case the mother suffers from breast-milk insufficiency or she is not able to breastfeed the baby properly, then she should seek counseling from medical practitioners/peers, so that lactation failure does not occur and rather the process is re-established at its full swing. In case of working mothers, adequate maternity benefits and unhindered grant of extended leave (as and when required) is rather important. In this regard, government’s initiative of child-care leave is an excellent move; however, the beneficiaries should use this facility judiciously.

No doubt, breastfeeding rates are not up to the mark among the rural/urban poor mothers whose vulnerability is associated with poverty, ignorance, and social discrimination and gender inequalities. The likelihood of breastfeeding cessation or sub-optimal breastfeeding practices is even greater in mothers who are literate, working outside home and fall under high/extremely high wealth categories. The set of problems are, however, different for the affluent elite society. Most of the mothers intentionally discontinue exclusive breastfeeding earlier than six months because they feel that prolonged breastfeeding could adversely affect their own health as well as  they would have to remain  bound to their child. Many of these mothers also have the apprehensions that they are not able to produce enough milk for their baby. This perceived breast-milk insufficiency leads to an early introduction of milk supplements/ breast-milk substitutes; thereby changing the maternal role and infant care patterns. All this happens due to the complexities of fast moving modern life rather than insufficient breast milk production in reality. Researchers throughout the world have proved that majority of the mothers are able to produce enough milk for their baby and the feeling of not-enough milk is often triggered due to numerous reasons like partial breastfeeding from one breast, improper positioning of the baby at the breast, dryness of the nipples or long gaps between two breastfeeding episodes. Moreover, the parents/mothers get wrongly influenced by the fancy advertisements of commercially produced infant milks/ infant foods and their dependency on breast milk substitutes increases at the cost of breastfeeding. The preference for these commercial infant formulae is sometimes driven by the doctor’s endorsements too, as some of them continue to recommend these foods claiming that the commercial infant milks/foods would be able to provide better nutrition to their baby. Additionally, the changing lifestyles and an increasing number of working mothers who want to succeed in their profession, impulsively push them to look for convenient infant feeding options. Here is a note of caution for the educated elite! Remember…… adopting optimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding is an investment in your child’s nutritional well-being, physical growth as well as psychological, cognitive emotional and social development; and thus, his/her holistic personality development for the lifetime.

The mothers need to be highly motivated to sustain optimal infant feeding practices. Minor day-to-day problems like breast milk insufficiency, busy work schedules need to be resolved through innovative strategies which can be implemented as per the need. In addition, adequate support from the father and the other family members is very important. Psychological and social well-being of the mother as well as adequate mother-child interaction has a great impact on lactational performance of the mother. Therefore, it is imperative that the mother is provided the right kind of environment, particularly tension-free atmosphere, so that she can successfully breastfeed the baby. The commercially publicized practices should not be followed blindly; the choices need to be made only after proper understanding of the implications. Only in unavoidable circumstances, the drastic action like shift from breastfeeding to replacement feeding can be taken, when there is no other choice; elsewise, breastfeeding should be the best approach.

There is no one magic bullet that can resolve all the breastfeeding related issues/problems. Let us make our best efforts to foster a society where all women are able to breastfeed their babies; and all babies can have access to adequate quantities of human milk……

Timely initiation of breastfeeding, exclusively breastfeeding till six months; and thereafter complementary feeding coupled with continued breastfeeding till two years or beyond can protect children from a number of infections and diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery and pneumonia as well as

reduce the risk of mortality!!!

Redevelopment of Sasson Dock

Mumbai’s historic Sassoon Dock is to be revamped as a modern fishing dock in the country. Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Mr. Nitin Gadkari yesterday inaugurated the redevelopment project under the aegis of the Mumbai Port Trust. In his address, during the occasion, the Minister laid thrust on increasing exports of marine products and said the Mumbai Port Trust is backing this objective by creating necessary physical infrastructure for this harbour. Mr. Gadkari said the government is committed to creating a good water transport infrastructure in the country to promote both seabound shipping and inland water transport, to save cost and create job opportunities. He said, his Ministry will proactively accord approvals for port related projects. Mr.Gadkari said, the pro development policies being pursued by the government would take the GDP growth upto 8.5 per cent within next two years. About the Sassoon Dock project  As part of the redevelopment plan, fishing activities will be restricted to New Sassoon Dock area, while Old Sassoon Dock will be used for outfitting of fishing boats and for providing required services like fuel, freshwater and ice for fishing boats. There is also a plan to provide an ice plant and an ice crusher shed. The existing open fish auction hall at New Sassoon Dock will be converted into a modern fish handling and auction hall. The redevelopment project also envisages construction of a dormitory, rest rooms, restaurant and a radio communication tower. There is also a proposal to set up Marine Food Park, sea food restaurant and an art gallery at the Sassoon Dock premises at a later stage. Mumbai Port Trust has appointed Central Institute of Coastal Engineering for Fishery, Bangalore as the Project Management Consultant for preparing the detailed technical report. The redevelopment project is estimated to cost Rs 25.50 crores. Earlier, the Mumbai Fishermen’s Association submitted a memorandum to the Minister demanding subsidy on diesel used in fishing vessels. They also sought subsidy on fishing implements, on the lines of subsidy extended to agricultural implements. Sassoon Dock is among the oldest docks of Mumbai, built in 1875 on reclaimed land in Colaba. It was built by Albert Abdul Sassoon, son of David Sassoon, who was the leader of the Jewish community in Bombay (Mumbai). It is the main fish loading and trading centre in the city.

India wins 64 medals in the just concluded CWG 2014

On 10th  and 11th day of Commonwealth Games, India won 13 medals (2 Gold, 7 Silver and 4 Bronze). The names of the medal winners are as follows:- Sl. No. Name of Athlete Event Medal 1. Joshana Chinappa / Dipika Pallikal Squash (Women’s Doubles) Gold 2. Devendro Laishram Boxing Light Weight (49 Kgs) Silver 3. Laishram Devi Boxing Light Weight (57-60 Kgs) Silver 4. Mandeep Jangra Boxing Welter -Weight – (69 kgs) Silver 5. Vijender Singh Boxing  Middle Weight (75 Kgs) Silver 6. Rajinder Rahelu Powerlifting (Heavyweight) Silver 7. P V Sindhu Badminton (Women Singles) Bronze 8. R V Gurusaidutt Badminton (Men Singles) Bronze 9. Sakina Khatun Powerlifting (Light Weight) Bronze 10. Arpinder Singh Athletics (Triple Jump) Bronze 11. Kashyap Parupalli Badminton (Men Singles) Gold 12. Ashwini Ponnappa / Jwala Gutta Badminton (Women Doubles) Silver 13. Sadar Singh / Akashdeep Singh / Birendra Lakar / Chinglensana Kangujam / Chandana Nikkin Thimmaiah / Danish Mujtaba / Dharamvir Singh / Gurwinder Chandi / Gurbaj Singh / Kothajit Khadangbam / Manpreet Singh / Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran / Rupinder Singh / Ramandeep Singh / Sunil Sowmarpet Vitalacharya / Raghunath Vokkaliga Ramachandra Hockey Men’s Silver Minister for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Sarbananda Sonowal    has congratulated all the medal winners.  P Country 1  ENG 58 59 57 2  AUS 49 42 46 3  CAN 32 16 34 4  SCO 19 15 19 5  IND 15 30 19  Parupalli Kashyap broke a 32-year jinx to claim the men’s singles badminton gold, while the women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa as also the men’s hockey team clinched silvers to cap an creditable Indian showing at the 20th Commonwealth Games which closed om Sunday. However, off the pitch, the arrest of two senior sports officials on separate charges of drunken driving and sexual assault came as a major embarrassment for the nation, which was earlier in the competition left red faced when a para powerlifter had to be pulled out of the Games and sent back home for failing an out—of—competition drug test conducted in June. The incidents took some of the sheen off the impressive 64 medal haul — 15 gold, 30 silver and 19 bronze — that ensured a fifth place finish in the leaderboard for India after England, Australia, Canada and hosts Scotland. It was India’s third best showing in the Commonwealth Games after the 100 plus bounty at home in Delhi four years back and the 69 medals they picked up at Manchester in 2002.

Protecting the constituency of nature

A smaller National Board for Wildlife, synergised with the government’s declared goals of speedy processing of environmental clearances, will deal an irreversible blow to our wildlife

With a new government that promises speedy decision-making — including time-bound environmental clearances — we also have a new form of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL). Shorn of the mandated numbers of expert members, this board appears to be committed to a leaner and meaner decision-taking body.

Many see this as an assault on the future of India’s varied and amazing wildlife. The Lion-tailed macaque from the moist forests of the Western Ghats, the secretive Great Indian bustard from the arid scrub of the Thar, and the tiger loping along the Central Indian forests are not just animals but forms of regional identity, whose breeding populations are mainly confined to our protected national parks and sanctuaries.

The NBWL considers proposals that affect these protected areas and their respective eco-sensitive zones. Mining, road development, land diversion, laying pipelines and other similar projects are considered by the board, which has governmental representation from tourism, defence or other ministries, as in current proposals.

Best interest standard

Shearing the NBWL of expert members — only three non-official members have been instituted, as against five non-governmental organisations and 10 expert members mandated by the Wildlife Protection Act — has been seen as an assault on the last “homes” of our charismatic and endangered species. An apex decision-making body that does not have the requisite number of different subject matter experts casts aspersions on our national goals of sustainable development and balanced growth.

Last year, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment (Centre for Environmental Law WWF-1 v. Union of India and Others), called for the establishment of “species best interest standard” for endangered species’ conservation. Stating that the protection of species should be free from profit, the judgment called for a fearless application of conservation plans with what it termed an “eco-centric approach” which would emphasise the species’ survival needs.

India has a variety of protected areas: some magnificent tiger reserves span different States; smaller State-level sanctuaries provide small but critical refuge to endemic and endangered species, and some protected reserves transform themselves with the seasonal migration of birds and turtles; from Kanha’s sal forests and Assam’s Kaziranga, to high-altitude wetlands in Tsomoriri, there are stunning catchments of water and soil and active carbon sinks.

An eco-centric approach emphasises that these ecosystems, and their wildlife, have an inherent right to exist at levels of ontology and altruism, untarred by how humans wish to exploit, manage or harness the natural goods from them. Indeed, our existing laws — the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the Forest Rights Act, 2006 — call for an identification of inviolate reserves and critical wildlife habitats. Primary forests, once cut down, cannot be replenished completely for at least another 50 years; rivers, once polluted or diverted, cannot be replaced in a mechanical manner.

Only 5.2 per cent of India’s terrestrial area is protected for wildlife and nature. Conservationists have always held that if over 90 per cent of India’s land mass cannot provide for our needs, it is unlikely that the last five per cent — meant to be shielded from extractive processes — will. Thus, fears that a smaller NBWL, synergised with the government’s declared goal of speedy processing of environmental clearances, will deal an irreversible blow to our wildlife, are not unfounded. However, there is even more to be considered.

Models of growth 

For decades, the conservation of species was seen to be dealing exclusively with the tiger, lion, turtle and other species. Over a period of time, these conservation norms have evolved. The world has also seen the formulation of the concept of sustainable development, which proposes models of growth that consider leaving a cleaner environment for future generations. Currently, a working group under the United Nations framework is creating Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). These 17 working goals, following 2012’s ‘Rio+ 20’ summit, recognise the need for biodiversity and environment protection, arguing that safe, sustainable and healthy environments (or as an extension, states and countries) require strong biodiversity and nature conservation.

Even before these ideas came to light, India had its own National Biodiversity Targets which emphasise that environmental conservation is to be mainstreamed into our planning processes and development goals. While some may view this as idealistic, increasing evidence also shows that this is practical.

At a cost

Environmental degradation comes at a cost to the economy. If big projects march on without risk and sustainability assessments, they will come at a cost which we will start to pay sooner than anticipated.

Rules mandating inviolate areas can be considered charismatic and burdensome in equal measure. But they also protect catchments of our reserves which we will need for the future of our development. Can growth, at any cost, actually pay the costs of environmental risk, resource scarcity and calamity? Most of our rivers originate from, or flow through, our 45 tiger reserves. Forests, protected in large measure by the umbrella of sanctuaries monitored by the NBWL, are agents that stabilise microclimate, bringing rain and flood control. As events preceding last year’s Uttarakhand flash floods showed us, construction on the flood plains of Himalayan rivers — technically deemed ‘eco-sensitive zones’ —is entirely possible. It may not however, be wise.

Development is not just about human creation, but about the development of social and health indices of which a clean environment is an integral part. The question of a smaller NBWL, sans subject experts thus, is one that is related to our fundamental right to life and a clean environment.

The NBWL should be reconstituted in consonance with the Wildlife Protection Act, not just for the sake our animals, but also for our own identification as a proud nation with a proud natural heritage. The constituency of nature exceeds the constituency of people and animals, and protecting it, with the help of technocratic expertise and without haste, suits both democratic processes and our own development as Indian citizens.

Making judiciary more transparent

A judiciary which considers the rule of law a part of its basic structure must abandon the culture of secrecy that envelops the present appointment process

The question of judicial appointments has reached centre stage. The new government has started a process of consultation in relation to two Bills — the Constitution Amendment Bill and the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill. The bills were an attempt by the previous government to take over judicial appointments. First, the composition of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) can be modified by Parliament by ordinary law. Second, the independence and impartiality of the proposed JAC will be undermined by the JAC Secretariat being made a department of government. Third, the expenses and salaries, etc of the JAC would not be charged to the Consolidated Fund of India and will be dependent on budgetary control by the Executive.

The Supreme Court and the High courts have their independent registries, where appointments are made by or at the direction of Chief Justices (Article 146 and Article 229 respectively), ensuring total freedom from political interference and political domination.

Collegium system

The Constitution Amendment Bill was in the public domain only for a few days, notwithstanding demands by stakeholders for an early disclosure. After a very brief debate on September 5, 2013, the Constitution (120th Amendment) Bill (later corrected as 99th Amendment Bill) was passed by the Rajya Sabha after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walked out. The BJP’s demand was that the Parliamentary Standing Committee should examine both the Bills together. Then BJP MP (and now the Union Minister for Law and Justice), Ravi Shankar Prasad is reported to have said in the Rajya Sabha: “Home work was not done. We were misled into passing it … The Minister [Kapil Sibal] has committed a mistake, he should feel sorry for his act. Law minister should apologise to the House. He must apologise, anguish would not do.”

There is a broad perception among most stakeholders that the present collegium system has not performed well and needs radical change. The worrying concerns relate to: appointment of unsuitable candidates and selection based on favouritism and nepotism, influential connections and personal likes and dislikes. There appears to be a consensus that the composition of the proposed JAC should be entrenched in the Constitution and cast in stone and that the pre-1993 position and the primacy of the Executive should not be restored — a view shared by two Ministers involved in the recent consultation process.

The debate raises many important questions — whether the JAC should be a permanent body with permanent members and a fixed tenure, rather than one with ex officio holders of judicial office who are all birds of passage with a limited tenure; whether the convention that the senior-most Supreme Court Judge be appointed Chief Justice of India (CJI) should be disregarded; whether the judiciary should have a dominant voice, and whether there should be a veto for dissenting members against the judicial members.

The two Bills being debated do not address the issue of a lack of transparency in the appointment procedure and of non-disclosure of reasons for selection.

Need for openness

The focus of this article is only on openness and transparency in the appointment procedure and on the necessity of providing relevant principles and guidelines in the Constitutional Amendment Bill.

All democracies are swiftly moving toward an open government and a citizen’s right to know — an international trend increasingly being supported by judicial decisions.

Further, the right to know is part of the freedom of speech and expression and the present secretive system, as implemented by the collegium, violates this fundamental right.

Publicity, the soul of justice

The principle of open justice and public trial is essential for the fair administration of justice. In the celebrated case of Scott v. Scott, observations by the 19th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham were quoted: “In the darkness of secrecy, sinister interest and evil in every shape have full swing. Only in proportion as publicity has place can any of the checks applicable to judicial injustice operate. Where there is no publicity there is no justice. Publicity is the very soul of justice. It is the keenest spur to exertion, and surest of all guards against improbity. It keeps the judge himself while trying under trial.” and “The security of securities is publicity.”

Our Supreme Court cited, with approval, this passage in the Naresh Sridhar Mirajkar case and added that “… a trial held, subject to the public scrutiny and gaze, naturally acts as a check against judicial caprice or vagaries …”

The distinguished former president of the Supreme Court of Israel, Aharon Barak, in his book, The Judge in a Democracy, observed: “… But we are judges. We demand that others act according to the law. This is also the demand that we make of ourselves ....”

“I view my office as a mission. Judging is not a job. It is a way of life. Whenever I enter the courtroom, I do so with the deep sense that, as I sit at trial, I stand on trial.”

Justice Sabyasachi Mukherjee, during the controversy regarding the impeachment of Justice V. Ramaswami, stated: “… The Supreme Court must uphold the rule of law. It is, therefore, necessary that those who uphold the rule of law must live by law and Judges must, therefore, be obliged to live according to law ….”

Why should this salutary principle not apply to the process of judicial appointments? “In camera” trials are ordered where the parties and witnesses require protection or a fair trial is prejudiced. In the functioning of the JAC or any other machinery for judicial appointments, no litigating parties are involved and the potential candidates who voluntarily participate must agree to an open and transparent process.

The present secretive process followed by the collegium excludes public scrutiny, violates the citizen’s right to know and leads to diminishing respect for the judiciary.

The observations in the First Judges Case (S.P. Gupta vs. Union Of India), which have not been overruled at this point, support the concept of openness. Bhagwati J. — with whom five judges agreed — while overruling the claim of privilege for non-disclosure of communications relating to appointments and transfers of judges, observed: “The citizens’ right to know the facts, the true facts, about the administration of the country is thus one of the pillars of a democratic State. And that is why the demand for openness in the government is increasingly growing in different parts of the world.”

He further observed: “Now, if the secrecy were to be observed in the functioning of government and the processes of government were to be kept hidden from public scrutiny, it would tend to promote and encourage oppression, corruption and misuse or abuse of authority, for it would all be shrouded in the veil of secrecy without any public accountability.”

“We believe in an open government and openness in government does not mean openness merely in the functioning of the executive arms of the state. The same openness must characterise the functioning of the judicial apparatus including judicial appointments and transfers.”

To ensure openness and transparency, the proposed constitutional amendment must embody some key principles and core concepts for guidance and implementation by the JAC. These would include: transparent criteria for eligibility as well as for shortlisting and selection (like age, standing, income, etc); a complete and periodically updated database of potential candidates that includes their qualification, performance, general reputation, etc and which is accessible to the public; applications to be invited by nomination/advertisement; consultation with members of the Bar and Bar organisations; inputs sought from the public with regard to shortlisted candidates; absolute immunity to citizens, while giving their inputs in a confidential manner, from laws of contempt and defamation; reasons for selection to be recorded and disclosed when required, and, most importantly, a complete record of video/audio of JAC deliberations.

Informed debate

In sum, one does not want a differently constituted appointing authority operating in secrecy.

Lord Steyn in the House of Lords observed: “The principle of open justice puts, as has often been said, the judge and all who participate in the trial under intense scrutiny … Informed public debate is necessary about all such matters … It promotes the value of the rule of law.”

Surely, a judiciary which considers the rule of law a part of its basic structure must abandon the culture of secrecy that envelops the present appointment process.