upsc 2018 test series

Finally upsc 2018 test series is going to start.due to hindi medium candidates demand we will conduct it in both medium.

Timing : 10 am. for working people flexible time is also available.

Climate Change Performance Index

Climate Change Performance Index

Context:

Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2018 has been released by environmental organisation Germanwatch. The report was made public on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change negotiations (COP23) in Bonn.

About CCPI:

The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an instrument covering 58 countries and supposed to enhance transparency in international climate politics. Its aim is to encourage political and social pressure on those countries which have, up to now, failed to take ambitious actions on climate protection as well as to highlight countries with best-practice climate policies.

On the basis of standardised criteria, the index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 58 countries that are, together, responsible for more than 90% of global energy-related CO2 emissions. 80% of the evaluation is based on objective indicators of emissions trend and emissions level. 20% of the index results are built upon national and international climate policy assessments by more than 200 experts from the respective countries.

Performance of various countries:

India is ranked 14th, an improvement from its 20th position last year. China, with its high emissions and growing energy use over the past five years, still ranks 41st.
The bottom three of the index is formed by Korea (58), Iran (59) and Saudi Arabia (rank 60), all of which are showing hardly any progress or ambition in reducing its emissions and energy use.

Highlights of the report:

As per the report, fifty-six countries and the EU are together responsible for about 90% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The report notes that global energy transition is taking up speed but no country is doing enough. For this, the countries have to strengthen targets and implementation.
The data show encouraging growth in renewable energy, ever cheaper prices for solar and wind energy and successes in saving energy in many countries. This was responsible for stabilising global energy CO2 emissions in the last three years.
But progress is achieved much too slow for a fully renewable energy based world economy in a few decades, because growing oil and gas consumption is higher than the welcomed reduction in coal use.

RBI Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed to the Financial Stability Institute Advisory Board or the Bank of International Settlement (BIS),

RBI Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed to the Financial Stability Institute Advisory Board or the Bank of International Settlement (BIS), a global financial organisation owned by major central banks from across the world.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is the world’s oldest international financial organization. It was established in May 1930.

Manushi Chhillar’s Miss World win draws India level with Venezuela with 6 titles

Manushi Chhillar’s Miss World win draws India level with Venezuela with 6 titles
Manushi Chhillar is the sixth Miss World from India, following in the footsteps of Bollywood actors Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai
Manushi Chhillar’s Miss World win on Saturday has tied India with Venezuela for most number of titles won by a single country.

Chhillar is the sixth Indian to become Miss World, following in the footsteps of Bollywood actors Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai. Her win brings India level with Venezuela as the countries with most victories in the history of the pageant, now in its 67th edition.

Reita Faria, Yukta Mookhey, Diana Haydon are the other India Miss World winners.




...........................the government has given the go-ahead for setting up India’s first mega coastal economic zone (CEZ) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra as part of a plan to develop 14 such industrial clusters to spur manufacturing and generate jobs.

The plan envisages a total investment of Rs 15,000 crore in the first phase and creation of more than 1.5 lakh jobs. The idea is to attract large firms interested in serving the export markets as they would bring with them technology, capital, good management and links to the world markets. This in turn would help create an ecosystem around them in which productive small and medium firms would emerge and flourish.
These zones are expected to provide business-friendly ecosystem including ease of doing business, ease of exporting and importing, swift decisions on applications for environmental clearances, and speedy water and electricity connections

India up one place on Per Capita GDP terms to 126, Qatar No 1: IMF report

India up one place on Per Capita GDP terms to 126, Qatar No 1: IMF report
India’s per capita GDP rises to $7,170 in 2017 from $6,690 last year—lowest among BRICS peers, shows IMF’s World Economic Outlook report
India has moved up one position to 126th in terms of per capita GDP of countries while Qatar remains the world’s richest on this parameter, as per IMF data.

The data, which forms part of the latest World Economic Outlook report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), ranks over 200 countries in terms of per capita GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP).

PPP between two countries is the rate at which the currency of one country needs to be converted into that of a second country to ensure that a given amount of the first country’s currency will purchase the same volume of goods and services in the second country as it does in the first.

India has seen its per capita GDP rise to $7,170 in 2017, from $6,690 last year, helping improve its rank by a position to 126th. Qatar remains top ranked with per capita GDP of $124,930, followed by Macao at the second position with $114,430 and Luxembourg third with $109,190.

Among BRICS countries, India has the lowest per capita GDP. Russia boasts of a GDP per capita of $27,900, while for China, it stood at $16,620, Brazil at $15,500 and South Africa at $13,400.

A recent Credit Suisse report said India is home to 245,000 millionaires with a total household wealth of $5 trillion. As per the IMF data, the richest 10 countries in the world in per capita GDP terms also include Singapore (4th, $90,530), Brunei (5th, $76,740), Ireland (6th, $72,630), Norway (7th, $70,590), Kuwait (8th, $69,670), United Arab Emirates (9th, $68,250) and Switzerland (10th, $61,360). The US has failed to make it to the top 10 and is ranked 13th with a per capita GDP of $59,500 while the UK is ranked even lower.

According to a Fortune magazine report based on the IMF data, several top-ranking countries such as Qatar and Brunei “have fuel and oil propelling their economies”, while investment and strong banking systems have helped propel economic growth in other countries like Iceland and Ireland.

.......................................Qatar remains top-ranked with per capita GDP of $1,24,930, followed by Macao at the second position with $1,14,430 and Luxembourg third with $1,09,190.

PPP between two countries is the rate at which the currency of one country needs to be converted into that of a second country to ensure that a given amount of the first country's currency will purchase the same volume of goods and services in the second country as it does in the first.
India has seen its per capita GDP rise to $7,170 in 2017, from $6,690 last year, helping improve its rank by a position to 126th.

Among BRICS countries, India has the lowest per capita GDP. Russia boasts of a GDP per capita of $27,900, while for China, it stood at $16,620, Brazil at $15,500 and South Africa at $13,400.

Indira Gandhi: A life of courageous conviction

Indira Gandhi: A life of courageous conviction
Throughout her political life, Indira Gandhi made the tough choices that were necessary for guaranteeing a strong, secular nation that lived up to its socialist ideals
Indira Gandhi was born 100 years ago on Sunday. It was a year that shook the world as the Bolshevik revolution took place, almost at the same time. In India too, the year was momentous as the country got ready to wage a full-fledged struggle against British imperialism under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.

Indira Gandhi, whose grandfather and father were leading the struggle for freedom under the Indian National Congress, was born in a family of freedom fighters. Her education began through the letters written to her by her father Jawaharlal Nehru from prisons, providing her glimpses of Indian history and the evolution of Indian society. She was further educated by two of the greatest teachers of the contemporary period—Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. She spent some time in Shanti Niketan. Born and brought up in an atmosphere of nationalist fervour, she was naturally attracted to the freedom struggle in her early years and went on to organize the “Banar Sena”. She deftly used it to contact those who were engaged in the freedom struggle, supplying information during the Non-Cooperation Movement.

She became Congress president in 1959, and long before that, she was chosen as a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). She took active interest in this great national organization but did not acquire any office, devoting herself to looking after her father who was steering a new India and laying the foundation of a strong, secular, democratic society. After his death, she was requested by the Congress leadership to join the cabinet of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who succeeded Nehru as prime minister. And after Shastri’s death, she showed her mettle by accepting the challenge to contest the election for the leadership of the party, defeating the veteran leader Morarji Desai by a thumping majority.

When she became prime minister in 1966, she was a member of the Rajya Sabha and served as such for a year, but decided to contest the popular elections within a year. During the general elections in 1967, she won from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareilly constituency. Even while being elected leader of the Congress in Parliament and chosen as prime minister, she realized that the party was in deep crisis, manifesting in defeat in that year’s general elections in several states like Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Within a few months of the elections, the party also lost governments in two important states, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, owing to the defection of a large number of Congress legislators.

She recognized that people had lost confidence in the Congress—and the defeat of a large number of important leaders in their own constituencies, including the then Congress president Kamraj Nadar, pointed to the need for shock treatment to cure the party’s ailment. In election after election, people believed in the Congress’s promises, which were not kept. To regain the people’s confidence, therefore, the party must keep its promises to them. She provided this by emphasizing that the Congress must stick to its ideology.

In the All India Congress Committee session at Bangalore, she made known to the members of the CWC and the parliamentary board the “10 Points” programme which she chose to galvanise the organization on an ideological basis. She recommended major reforms in its economic policies. Unfortunately, the note was not appreciated by the majority of the members of the CWC, but that did not deter her from taking drastic action. She nationalized 14 scheduled commercial banks on 13 July 1969 through an ordinance.

The background of this decision was the refusal of Congress leadership in the CWC to accommodate her 10 Points. First, she attempted to persuade Morarji Desai to accept her proposal of bank nationalisation, but he refused to do so. Then, she asked him to relinquish the finance ministry and accept any other portfolio, but he threatened to resign if the finance portfolio was taken away from him. She readily accepted the resignation and took on the responsibility of the ministry for a year.

The more orthodox section of the Congress leadership in both the CWC and Central Parliamentary Board had the majority, and they rejected her progressive ideas of major economic reforms. She reminded the Congress leadership time and again that from the days of the Avadi Congress in 1955, the party had been committed to create a socialist society and promised major economic reforms. But these promises had never been fulfilled despite the fact that people supported the party in 1957 after Avadi and in 1962 with the hope that the Congress would keep its word. To rebuild the party’s credibility, action, and not words, were required. She saw socialism as a commitment to the nation—and bank nationalisation was just the first step.

The decision resulted in rich dividends for the country. Its impact has been evident even in the last decade when the Indian banking system stood resilient, even as some of the major European and US banks suffered catastrophic meltdowns after the financial crisis in 2008. Incidentally, public sector banks dominate the banking industry in India. Her belief that prudent management of public sector banks was the key to banking strategy and business in India stood vindicated.

Indira Gandhi was convinced that associations and institutions which subsumed large social objectives should be under public control. To achieve this objective, apart from bank nationalization she brought about legislation nationalizing general insurance, coal mines etc, and major amendments in Acts like the Industrial Development & Regulation Act that could facilitate government takeover of sick industries if the government deemed it necessary in the larger public interest.

While socialism and secularism are implicit in the text of the Constitution, particularly in the Directive Principles of State Policy, she made it explicit through the 42nd Amendment by inserting the two words ‘Socialist & Secular’. Many people considered it unnecessary as the entire text of the Constitution is oriented towards socialism and secularism, but she thought it necessary to make it explicit. Insertion of the words ‘Socialist’ and ‘Secular’ in the preamble of the Constitution to define the state, which was earlier just sovereign, democratic republic, emanated out of her belief that insertion of these two words in the preamble would define the characteristics of Indian State adequately.

In 1978, after victory in the Chikamagalur by-election, which brought her back to Lok Sabha after her defeat in 1977, Indira Gandhi visited the UK in November that year. At the annual banquet speech of the British-Indian Association, then-British Deputy Prime Minister Michael Foot, observed, The Indira Gandhi story has not come to an end after the defeat in general elections of 1977 as many people believe she is doomed forever. I can tell them, many more glorious chapters are going to be added in her new innings.” Not only did she return with a bang within two years by scoring a resounding victory in the 1980 Lok Sabha elections, she also subsequently won all the states, except Tamil Nadu, where elections took place.

In this new innings beginning in 1980, by hosting the 7th Non-Aligned Summit, she clearly conveyed to the world that the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was a guarantee to secure the liberty of people and to ensure peace and harmony in the world. Her ceaseless efforts for the cause of humanity became visible wherever the people suffered. Be it the people of Algeria or those of South Africa, Angola and Namibia, she stood for them and always opposed the tormentors. This sensitivity was at display as early as 1946, when she as a young woman found an agitated crowd of a hundred or so people attempting to kill an old man. She stopped her car and ran to protect the man by standing before him. The angry crowd shouted at her menacingly and asked her, “Who are you and what are you doing?” She calmly asked them, “Who are you and what are you doing?” They shouted back, “We want to kill this man and if you don’t leave him to our hand, you will have the same fate.” Without raising her voice, she calmly told them, ”You can’t. You are cowards. You have no sense of purpose and don’t know what are you doing. I know what I am doing.” The crowd melted away in the face of her courage and fortitude, leaving the man unharmed. After hearing this story, Gandhi asked her to work in the Muslim mohallas of Delhi, which she did alone, with a tremendous impact in creating an atmosphere where people of all faiths could live in peace and harmony.

This courage and conviction remained with her until her life was snatched away by assassins’ bullets. Before taking the drastic step of Operation Blue Star, she knew that the Sikhs would never forgive her for this happening in the Golden Temple, their most holy place. She told her advisors that she was aware of this feeling amongst the community. She said that she had deep respect for all religions and was inspired by the sacrifices and dedicated works of all the great gurus. But for her, it was not a question of religion, but the fact that in the name of religion, misguided elements were causing great harm to national unity and integrity. She said that as prime minister, she could not remain a silent spectator. The events of the day were well known to them, she told her advisors, and asked them what else the government could do. There was no answer. In the aftermath of Blue Star, many advisors suggested she remove Sikh personnel from her security arrangements. She refused to agree to this and said it would convey a totally wrong message.

Indira Gandhi’s contribution to world peace and disarmament were visible in her steely protests against the flawed NPT (non-proliferation treaty). Though she was in agreement with the treaty’s basic objective, she could not agree to two categories of states: one privileged class that possessed nuclear weapons and unrestricted access to nuclear materials for whatever purpose they deemed fit, and a vast number of other countries who would be denied access to the peaceful use of nuclear materials to generate electricity and remove poverty in their countries. She did not agree to this discrimination and refused to sign the NPT, which is the policy of the nation to date. The first nuclear explosion at Pokhran in 1974 brought sanctions against India. Trade restrictions and stoppage of economic assistance did not deter her. The second test conducted by Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime minister in 1998 vindicated her stand.

Indira Gandhi is no longer amongst us. Thirty-four years ago, assassins’ bullets silenced the voice which always inspired Indians to be proud of everything Indian. In her death, she left a message to the people of this country and to the whole world: a commitment to the people can never be killed by any power, however strong it may be.

Pranab Mukherjee is a former president of India.

The emerging Indo-Pacific architecture

The emerging Indo-Pacific architecture
While the ‘Quad’ is a crucial pillar of the peace and security architecture in the Indo-Pacific region, it needs to be buttressed by at least two other pillars—EAS and Apec
The term “Indo-Pacific” has long been in vogue among marine biologists and ichthyologists to define the stretch of water from the tropical Indian Ocean, through the equatorial seas around the Indonesian archipelago, the South China Sea, and to the western and central Pacific Ocean. The term entered the geopolitical lexicon only in the early 21st century and, predictably, has proved to be far more contentious than its scientific definition. The region has been the locale for some of the bloodiest inter- and intra-state wars in the 20th century and promises to be the theatre for similar conflagrations in the foreseeable future between failing, emerging and established nuclear-armed countries. This potential for conflict is exacerbated by the absence of a robust regional peace and security architecture.

Against this backdrop, efforts to rejuvenate the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (or the “Quad”) between Australia, India, Japan and the US on the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Manila are of notable significance. Although this meeting was low-keyed and downplayed by India in particular, the Quad itself has the potential to secure the region against great power conflict.

There are several factors why the countries chose to revivify the Quad at this juncture. For India, the Doklam confrontation with China and concerns over the latter’s so-called Belt Road Initiative (BRI) were crucial considerations. Similarly, following US secretary of state Rex Tillerson’s visit, there is a desire to engage Washington more closely in the region. For Australia, and to some extent Japan, the key drivers behind formally reviving the Quad was the concern about the commitment of the Donald Trump administration to the bilateral alliance arrangements and the quest to buttress them with the Quad commitment. For the US, the Quad offers a way to share its burden of containing China in the region.

When it comes to fruition, the Quad will not be dissimilar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), which managed to “keep Russia out, the US in and Germany down”. Most observers have simplistically branded the nascent organization as a tool to contain China. However, to be truly effective—like Nato—the Indo-Pacific Quad will also have to fulfil three simultaneous missions: keep China out, the US in and Japan down.

While managing China and keeping Beijing on the status-quoist path, the Quad will also have to ensure the continued engagement and commitment of Washington to the region, which can no longer be taken for granted. Given the disruptive and isolationist tendency of Trump (evident in his skipping the EAS) and, possibly other future US leaders, this is a crucial role that the organization will have to fulfil. Similarly, given Japan’s brutal World War II record in the region, the Quad will also have to reassure other potential future members, including from ASEAN, that Tokyo’s role will remain benign and any revisionist tendencies will be kept in check.

Although the Quad was formally initiated in 2007 at the prompting of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, its informal origins can be traced to 2004. In the wake of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, Australia, India, Japan and the US launched an ad-hoc humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) mission, which allowed them to come together operationally. Since then the four navies have worked together on several occasions.

While formal Quad meetings were shelved following strong objections from China in 2007, discussions nonetheless continued. For instance, in 2015 the foreign secretaries of Australia, India and Japan met ostensibly to firm up the security leg of India’s “Act East” policy. Soon thereafter the India, Japan, US trilateral meeting was held in Honolulu. Thus, the Quad continued to function under the garb of two trilateral meetings. Subsequently, since 2015, the India-US Malabar naval exercises have included Japan and are likely to include Australia in the next iteration, thus making the military component of the Quad a reality.

Nonetheless, the Quad’s potential is likely to be limited by several internal differences. For instance, while India promotes the principle of “freedom of navigation”, it is reluctant to enforce it through freedom of navigation operations by sailing warships through exclusive economic zones, particularly in the South China Seas. Thus, the 2015 Indian Maritime Security Strategy cautions that there may be divergent security perceptions “with nations that may be traditional friends (read US)”. Members of the Quad will have to address these differences to develop the institution further.

Moreover, while the Quad is a crucial pillar of the peace and security architecture in the Indo-Pacific region, it needs to be buttressed by at least two other pillars. The EAS serves the role of the political pillar and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) as the trade and economic pillar. While all Quad participants are members of EAS, India is still not a member of Apec. This lacuna needs to be remedied if New Delhi is to contribute to all three pillars of the Indo-Pacific architecture.

Finally, India will also have to shed its inherent abhorrence for formal military arrangements and cooperation, even though this might bring with it the prospect of being dragged into a war not of its making. As Nato has shown, sometimes a democratic military alliance is essential to maintain peace.