NITI Aayog proposes higher tax on big cars, SUVs in draft National Energy Policy

NITI Aayog proposes higher tax on big cars, SUVs in draft National Energy Policy
NITI Aayog has made a case for higher tax on big cars, SUVs and promotion of mass transport system like metro rail to improve air quality in the draft National Energy Policy
Government think tank NITI Aayog has made a case for higher tax on big cars and SUVs, and promotion of mass transport system like metro rail to improve air quality in the draft National Energy Policy.

The proposed National Energy Policy has also pitched for providing conducive regulatory framework to encourage investments in the energy sector in India which would around $3.6 trillion between 2015 and 2040.

“Further widening taxation differential between cars (higher tax for big cars/ SUVs) will promote adoption of more fuel-efficient cars,” stated the draft National Energy Policy on which NITI Aayog has sought public feedback till 14 July 2017.

The draft policy also said that the success of efficiency in private transport depends on progress in mass transport system such as metro rail. The poor air quality in India, particularly in urban centres where energy is used in concentrated areas, calls for bold action through energy policy as a part of the overall environment strategy, says the draft.

An analysis of total emission over life of different modes of transport options is critical to decide about the appropriate mode of transport. The draft says that the policy to promote electric and hybrid vehicles needs to be supported.

Other policy options should be explored to arrive at optimal solutions and incentives to decide whether to support expensive technology; or to give subsidies. The higher emission of big diesel cars was a issue of public discourse in the recent times after the apex court banned the sale of SUVs with cubic capacity of 2000 or more in Delhi.

Later last year, the Supreme Court allowed sale of these vehicles but imposed 1% cess on ex-show room price in the National Capital Region.

The policy said that the capital requirement in the energy domain is the biggest challenge before the country, which is aggravated by high interest rates as compared to developed economies.

According to the estimates of International Energy Agency, the Indian energy sector will require an investment upwards of $3.6 trillion between 2015 and 2040. It notes that India needs large doses of private capital, both domestic and international, and this will be forthcoming only if we erect world-class regulators.

The draft points out that the competitive markets cannot be achieved without effective independent oversight. The policy has proposed to complete the regulatory space by putting in place statutory Regulators for coal, oil and gas (upstream) on the same lines as in electricity.

The growth in India’s energy supply by a multiple of nearly more than three by 2040, has to be facilitated by assuring investors of competent, arms-length and effective decision-making, it said.

In a developing scenario, investors will not come forward unless they anticipate commercially in the sector. On the other hand, consumer interests can also be addressed by the same strong watchdog mechanism. Simultaneously, Regulators must implement Government policy on current issues such as access, air quality, affordability etc, it added.

The road to Rashtrapati Bhavan

The road to Rashtrapati Bhavan
Here’s a look at what the process involves to elect India’s next president

Presidential elections are due on 17 July—a contest (in case there are candidates other than the National Democratic Alliance’s Ram Nath Kovind) that will be decided by an electoral college. Here’s a look at what the process involves, according to data provided by New Delhi-based PRS Legislative Research.

India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-17 was on Thursday successfully launched by a heavy duty rocket of Arianespace from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.

India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-17 was on Thursday successfully launched by a heavy duty rocket of Arianespace from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.

Configured around I-3K extended bus, GSAT-17 with a lift-off mass of about 3,477 kg, carries payloads in Normal C- band, Extended C-band and S-band to provide various communication services. It also carries equipment for meteorological data relay and satellite based search and rescue services being provided by earlier INSAT satellites.

The European launcher Arianespace Flight VA238 blasted off from Ariane Launch Complex No 3 (ELA 3) at Kourou, a French territory located in northeastern coast of South America, couple of minutes delayed than the scheduled time of 2:29am.

GSAT-17 was injected shortly after orbiting co-passenger Hellas Sat 3-Inmarsat S EAN in a flawless flight lasting about 41 minutes. “GSAT-17 successfully launched by Ariane-5 VA-238 from Kourou, French Guiana,” the city headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) announced after the mission.

GSAT-17 that will strengthen Isro’s current fleet of 17 telecommunications satellites was launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). This will be third satellite launch by Isro this month, the other two being first developmental flight of GSLV MkIII and PSLV C-38 missions—both from Sriharikota spaceport.

GSLV MkIII successfully launched GSAT-19 satellite on 5 June while PSLV-C38 orbited Cartosat-2 Series satellite along with 30 co-passenger satellites on 23 June from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Isro, which has been dependent on Ariane-5 rocket for carrying its heavier satellites, is developing GSLV Mk III for this purpose.

Announcing the successful launch of the satellite, Arianespace chief executive officer Stephane Israel tweeted: “Confirmed: GSAT-17 has successfully separated from its #Ariane5 launcher #VA238 @ISRO “ Thanking Arianespace, Director Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Dr K. Sivan who watched the launch from the mission control centre called it a “text book mission”.

Noting it as a special mission for Isro, he said “GSAT-17 is a need of the hour for Isro and India as it provides the continuity in services of ageing two satellites, as well as augmenting our transponder capability, and widening our horizon to mobile satellite services as well as to Antarctica areas.”

GSAT-17’s co-passenger Hellas Sat 3-Inmarsat S EAN is a two-payload “condosat” produced by Thales Alenia Space for Hellas Sat and Inmarsat. Once in orbit, the Hellas Sat 3 component will deliver direct-to-home and telecom services to maintain and expand Hellas Sat’s business reach, while the Inmarsat S EAN component provides the satellite portion of Inmarsat’s new European Aviation Network.

Hellas Sat (member of the Arabsat Group) is a premium satellite operator, offering services in Europe, the Middle East and South Africa from the orbital position of 39 East. Inmarsat is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services.

The total payload carried on Flight VA238 is approximately 10,177 kg. GSAT-17 will be the 21st satellite from Isro to be launched by Arianespace, and its designed in-orbit operational life is about 15 years.

After its injection into GTO, Isro’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan takes control of GSAT-17 and performs the initial orbit raising manoeuvres using the Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) of the satellite, placing it in circular Geostationary Orbit, the Indian space agency has said.

indo israel

PM Narendra Modi to advance sales and production of missiles, drones and radar systems from Israel under his signature ‘Make in India’ drive
Narendra Modi is making a first visit to Israel by an Indian prime minister next week, in a public embrace of a country that he has long admired for its military and technical expertise but which his predecessors kept at arm’s length.

India has traditionally trodden a careful diplomatic line in the region, analysts say, wary of upsetting Arab states and Iran—upon whom it relies for its vast imports of oil—and its large Muslim minority. It has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, even as it quietly pursued ties with Israel.

But now Modi is lifting the curtain on a thriving military relationship. He will hold three days of talks with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, to advance sales and production of missiles, drones and radar systems under his signature “Make in India” drive, officials in Delhi and Tel Aviv said.

The Indian leader will not travel to Ramallah, the seat of the Palestine Authority and a customary stop for visiting leaders trying to maintain a balance in political ties.

At home, the apparent shift in what has long been a bedrock of India’s foreign policy risks sharpening criticism that the country’s 180 million Muslims are increasingly being marginalized under Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, which swept to power in 2014.

“Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel will only strengthen its occupation of Palestine,” said Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of the Indian parliament from a regional group that promotes Muslim rights.

In previous decades, under the left-leaning Congress Party, former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was a regular visitor to New Delhi, pictured hugging then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when the two were championing the Non-Alignment Movement.

In May, Modi hosted Arafat’s successor, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and offered help in health and information technology, but the trip was low-key.

The scale of the ongoing collaboration with Israel dwarfs anything India is attempting with the Palestinians, officials say.

“We have a wide ranging partnership with Israel that ranges from agriculture cooperation to homeland security,” said Bala Bhaskar, head of the foreign ministry’s West Asia division.

He said India’s ties with Israel and Palestine were important in their own right and neither should viewed through the prism of the other. But an Israeli diplomat said Modi’s standalone trip to Tel Aviv was an important signal.

The two sides are expected to announce strategic partnerships in areas including water, agriculture and space technology during Modi’s visit. But it is the defence relationship that is most advanced—India is now Israel’s biggest arms market, buying weapons at an average of $1 billion each year.

Eli Alfassi, executive vice-president of marketing at state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the country’s biggest defence firm, said it was supplying India with drones, radar, communication systems and cybersecurity.

Missiles, food security

The centrepiece of the collaboration is the Barack 8 air defence system, built jointly by the two countries in a boost for Modi’s campaign to develop a domestic defence industry.

“We are adjusting to the ‘Make in India’ policy which says only local companies will win tenders, so we are setting up three joint projects in India with local companies,” Alfassi said.

IAI has signed a memorandum of understanding to build missiles with India’s state-run Bharat Electronics Limited, launched a joint project with Dynamatic Technologies to make drones and is scouting for a partner for a joint venture for its subsidiary Elta, which specialises in electronic warfare and communication systems, he said.

India is in the midst of a military modernisation programme worth more than $100 billion to help counter rivals Pakistan and China. Israel, the United States and Russia are India’s top military suppliers, and Modi’s government has said it will favour countries that are ready to share technology.

Avi Mizrachi, executive vice-president of business development for Israel and Southeast Asia at Elbit Systems, which supplies electro-optic systems and upgrades of helicopters and combat vehicles, said it would be bidding for a tender to supply drones in partnership with the Adani group.

The two countries stress, though, that there is more to the relationship than arms deals.

Modi will be discussing a plan for Israeli help in boosting India’s food security, officials said. The plan is to expand 26 agriculture expertise centres that Israel has set up in 15 Indian states to help increase output of everything from vegetables to mangoes and pomegranates.

Modi wants Indian companies involved in turning these small centres into commercial entities that would help tens of thousands of farmers to boost productivity.

Sikkim standoff: India pushes more troops in Doka La in longest impasse since 1962

Sikkim standoff: India pushes more troops in Doka La in longest impasse since 1962

Officials say India brought in more troops in Doka La after the destruction of two of its bunkers and ‘aggressive tactics’ adopted by the Chinese People’s Liberation Arm
India has pushed in more troops in a “non-combative mode” to strengthen its position in an area near Sikkim, where its soldiers have been locked in a standoff with Chinese troops for almost a month now in what has been the longest such impasse between the two armies since 1962.

India brought in more troops after the destruction of two of its bunkers and “aggressive tactics” adopted by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), officials said.

In a “non- combative mode”, the nozzle of a gun is placed downwards. Giving details for the first time about the events that preceded the face off between the two armies, the officials said the PLA on 1 June asked the Indian Army to remove the two bunkers set up in 2012 at Lalten in Doka La, which falls in the vicinity of Chumbi Valley at the corner of India-Bhutan- Tibet tri-junction.

The Indian Army, which had been patrolling this area for many years, decided in 2012 that two bunkers would be positioned there as a backup option, besides providing security to the Bhutan-China border. The Indian Army forward positions informed Sukna-based 33 Corps Headquarter in North Bengal about the Chinese warnings on the bunkers, the officials said.

However, during the night of 6 June, two Chinese bulldozers destroyed the bunkers, claiming that the area belonged to China and that India or Bhutan had no right over it, the officials said. Indian troops on the ground prevented the Chinese men and machines from doing any further damage or transgressing into the area, they said.

Additional forces from nearby brigade headquarters, located 20km from the face off point, were moved in on 8 June during which a scuffle led to soldiers on both sides suffering minor injuries. PLA troops were rushed in from its 141 division located in the area, prompting the Indian Army to also strengthen its position. This is the longest standoff between the two armies since 1962.

The last one, which carried on for 21 days, occurred at Daulat Beg Oldie in the Ladakh division of Jammu and Kashmir in 2013, when Chinese troops entered 30km into Indian territory till the Depsang Plains and claimed it to be a part of its Xinjiang province. They were, however, pushed back.

Sikkim, which became a part of India in May 1976, is the only state which has a demarcated border with China. The lines are based on a treaty signed with the Chinese in 1898. After the India-China war of 1962, the area where the Indian troops are stationed was placed under the Indian Army and the ITBP, which is the border guarding force and has a camp 15km from the international border.

As the scuffle broke out between the two sides, the Indian Army rushed an officer of the Major General rank to the area and a flag meeting was sought with the Chinese counterparts. China rejected two such requests from the Indian side, but accepted the third call for a meeting, where it asked the Indian Army to withdraw its troops from the Lalten area, which falls in Doka La.

Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China claims it to be part of its Donglang region. As a fallout of the standoff, the Chinese refused to allow the first batch of 47 pilgrims, who were to conduct the annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, into Tibet.

They also conveyed to the Indian side that visas of another batch of 50 yatris had also been cancelled, the officials said, describing the move as an indication of “increased tempers” in Beijing. The Sikkim route to Mansarovar, which is in Tibet, was opened in 2015, enabling pilgrims to travel the 1500km long route from Nathu La to Kailash by buses.

It is not the first time that such a transgression has happened at Doka La. The Chinese forces had in November 2008 destroyed some makeshift Indian army bunkers there. Defence experts believe China wants to exert its dominance over the Chumbi Valley, which is a part of the southern reaches of Tibet.

By claiming the Doka La area, Beijing wants to maximise its geographical advantage so that it can monitor all movements along the India-Bhutan border. China has also increased diplomatic pressure on India and lodged a protest over the alleged “crossing of boundary” by Indian troops in the Sikkim section.

They demanded their immediate withdrawal, as Beijing warned that future visits of Indian pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar would depend on the resolution of the standoff. “Our position to uphold our territorial sovereignty is unwavering. We hope the Indian side can work with China in the same direction and immediately withdraw the personnel who have overstepped and trespassed into Chinese border,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang had told the media in Beijing last week.

People’s Liberation Army spokesman Col Wu Qian also spoke a tough language while making a reference to the 1962 Sino- India conflict, saying that New Delhi should “learn historical lessons”. Qian described Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s remarks that India was ready for a “two-and-a-half front war” as “extremely irresponsible” and asked him to “stop clamouring for war”.

Rawat had said India was prepared for security threats posed by China, Pakistan as well as by internal threats. “Such rhetoric is extremely irresponsible. We hope that the particular person in the Indian Army could learn from historical lessons and stop such clamouring for war,” he had said.

The defence minister, Arun Jaitley, made New Delhi’s stand clear when he said the India of 2017 was different from that of 1962. “If they are trying to remind us, the situation in 1962 was different and the India of 2017 is different,” Jaitley had said when asked about China’s warning. Of the 3,488km-long India-China border from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, a 220km section falls in Sikkim.

291 people reached

World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision

World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision
On 21st June, 2017, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat issued World Population Prospects Report: The 2017 Revision.
According to the results of the 2017 Revision, the world’s population numbered nearly 7.6 billion as of mid-2017.
The reports shows that the world’s population is projected to increase by slightly more than one billion people over the next 13 years, and will reach 8.6 billion in 2030, and to increase further to 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100.
Currently, the population of China is approximately 1.41 billion compared with 1.34 billion in India that is 19 percent and 18 percent of the world’s population respectively.
India’s population is projected to continue growing for several decades to around 1.5 billion in 2030 while the population of China is expected to remain stable until the 2030s, after which it may begin a slow decline.
In this way India will be the world’s most populous country by 2024-2030.
According to repots data, ten countries are expected to account collectively for more than half of the world’s projected population increase over the period 2017-2050.
These ten countries are India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, the United Republic of Tanzania, the United States of America, Uganda, Indonesia and Egypt.
Nigeria’s population, currently the seventh largest in the world, is growing most rapidly.
The population of Nigeria is projected to surpass that of the United States shortly before 2050, at which point it would become the third largest country in the world.
According to the report in 2017, an estimated 50.4 per cent of the world’s population was male and 49.6 per cent female.
Current estimates indicate that roughly 83 million people are being added to the world’s population every year.

UKPCS-2016 full length test

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