UKPCS2012 FINAL RESULT SAMVEG IAS DEHRADUN

 
 








Heartfelt congratulations to all my dear student .this was outstanding performance .this was possible due to your hard work and dedication.
we also feel sad for other student who could not make it this time.but you all were gems. next time hope you will do better.
total selection:28 (5sdm,3dsp).BEST RESULT IN UTTARAKHAND.
FROM SAMVEG IAS
5 SDM
1)2ND RANK ABHAY PRATAP SINGH
2)7TH RANK AJAYVEER SINGH
3)9TH RANK VARUN AGGRAWAL
4)10TH RANK RAHUL SHAH
5)13TH RAVINDRA KUMAR JUWANTHA

3 DSP
6)SHIVAM PRATAP SINGH, RANK2
7)IMARAN AHMAD,RANK6
8)JUHI MANRAL, RANK12
1 ARTO
9)CHAKRAPANI MISHRA, 1ST RANK
6BDO
10)MANAS MITTAL,RANK8
11)KAMAL KISHOR PANDEY, RANK11
12)SONAM GUPTA,RANK 16
13)DRISHTI ANAND,RANK21
14)ATIYA PARVEZ, RANK22
15)SUMAN LATARANK 23
1CEO ZILA PANCHYAT
16)ANSHIKA SWAROOP RANK4
1SAMAJ KALYAN ADHIKARI
17)ANSHVEY KAINTURA, 2ND RANK
3 TREASURY OFFICER
18)SURYA PRATAP SINGH,RANK3
19)SHAIFALI GUPTA,RANK4
20)KUMAR VIPUL
21)SWAPNIL MUYAL RANK20
1 ZILA POORTI ADHIKARI
22)ARUN KUMAR VERMA,RANK2
4 BAL VIKAS ADHIKARI
23)TARUNA CHAMOLA,RANK6
24)NEETU PHULARA,RANK7
25)PRASANT KUMAR, RANK 18
26)BHARTI BHANDARI, RANK22
2 ZILA PARYATAN ADHIKARI
27)ATUL BHANDARI, RANK3
28)BRIJENDRA PANDEYRANK6
1SAHAYAK SHRAM AYUKTA
29)PRASANT KUMAR, RANK1
30)Nilesh kumar ,jansampark adhikari
Total no of candidate qualified :30

The difficulty of being a farmer

The difficulty of being a farmer
The Indian farmer faces pressure from both the demand and the supply sides. Technology can help solve some of his problems.
The Indian farmer has always been like an areca nut in a nutcracker—always under pressure from both the supply and the demand sides.

There are about 145 million landholdings in the country. With about 92% of them being wholly owned and self-operated, we may assume that we have about 130 million farmers. With more than 40% of our cultivated area of 175 million hectares being irrigated, there is a clear distinction between farmers with irrigation and those with rain-fed acreages. The most disadvantaged are the farmers who own patches of the 20 million hectares of unproductive saline land in the country. While farmers who have access to irrigation are better placed, those who are in rain-fed and drought-prone areas are most vulnerable. They occupy 60% of the cultivated area but contribute only 45% of the total agricultural production. These are the farmers without the financial wherewithal to withstand the vagaries of nature. A single crop failure due to drought, flood or similar reasons can destroy them.

Crop insurance programmes have not been able to recover farmers’ investments in most cases due to lack of accurate farm-level data that can be used to settle claims. Satellite and remote sensing technologies are for the future.

Farm economics are beholden to the economics of demand and supply. With every recurring phenomenon of high production that is in excess of demand, there is the consequent (and drastic) fall in prices. Planted acreages have little to no connection with projected demand. When a farmer plants a crop, he does not know what the likely market price of his produce will be. The government’s minimum support price (MSP) gives him some direction, but it operates only with some crops. Neither is the government any better at forecasting. In the 2016 kharif season, for example, the government pushed farmers to reduce cotton and plant more pulses. Those who continued growing cotton made good money but the majority who went in for pulses faced excess supply and are dealing with a steep fall in prices.

There is no commodity-based farmers’ organization in the country to address these issues. In other countries, such organizations advise farmers on global projections of demand and supply for specific crops and help in moderating acreages in line with projected demand. Neither are there platforms for farmers to highlight issues to key stakeholders such as policymakers, economists and scientists. Existing farmer organizations are aligned with political or other special interest groups and are neither objective nor scientific in their approach. Hence, the need for the development of a non-partisan platform.

Another high-input cost today is that of farm labour, itself a much misunderstood and maligned issue. Everyone thinks there is ample farm labour available. But the problem is the availability of labour at the right time and at the right cost. The cost of labour has risen due to social welfare programmes and minimum wage levels. At peak times, like sowing, transplanting, harvesting, etc., it is very difficult to get sufficient farm labour. In the case of cotton, for example, the cost of harvesting has risen to about 10% of the selling price—which is very high. Sensitive crops like fruits, vegetables, etc., which have to be harvested at precise times to maximize the quality of the produce, face the same problems.

One solution to address this is greater reliance on technology, be it through farm mechanization, the use of weedicides or genetic engineering, that can lower input and time costs. Farmers operating in states with labour shortage use chemical pesticides to control weeds, which is cost- and time-efficient. There is also rapid mechanization of paddy transplantation. Farmers should be encouraged to use such labour-saving options instead of being burdened with the social objective of protecting rural employment and being denied access to new technology.

The Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act prohibits farmers from selling their produce in any mandi other than their designated one. This makes farmers vulnerable to middlemen and vested interests. They are exposed to global prices but are not provided with access to cost-efficient technologies and information systems. This places them at a disadvantage with farmers from other countries. Karnataka has united all mandis in the state on an electronic platform and this has reportedly improved farmers’ selling prices by 38%. This should be replicated nationally.

The agricultural extension system has collapsed in many parts of the country. The farmer is forced to depend on the advice of agri-input dealers and commercial organizations instead. Some organizations are attempting to use information and communication technology-based methods to give technical advice to farmers. This may prove to be beneficial. The other issue is that banks need to get more generous with credit in rural areas where the stranglehold of private moneylenders continues to wreak havoc. Lack of rural infrastructure, reliable power, cold-storage, roads and transport systems, etc., continue to cripple farm operations and increase costs.

We need to overhaul our thinking and approach towards addressing farmers’ challenges which are complicated and structural in nature. Waiving farm loans is a lazy option for governments and a costly option for the banking system. Successive governments have chosen this option because they do not have the political will to find better solutions.

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.

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