upsc mains 2017 GS PAPER I and its analysis

upsc mains 2017 GS PAPER I and its analysis
#upscmains2017

10 questions of 150 word ,each of 10 marks
10 questions of 250 word ,each of 15 marks

UPSC MAINS 2017 GS PAPER II

GS PAPER II
UPSC MAINS 2017 GS PAPER II

Predictable current affairs and well known traditional topic but still very difficult paper.

10questions(150 word)-10 markers
10 questions(250 words)-15 markers
Total words to be written : 10x150+10x250=4000/(almost same

UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III ANALYSIS BY SAMVEG IAS

UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III ANALYSIS BY SAMVEG IAS

UPSC MAINS 2017 GS PAPER IV

UPSC MAINS 2017 GS PAPER IV

India’s rank rises to 100 in World Bank’s doing Business Report, 2018

India’s rank rises to 100 in World Bank’s doing Business Report, 2018
#must read
#upsc/ukpscmains
The World Bank, today released the Doing Business (DB) Report, 2018. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is pleased to announce that India ranks 100 among 190 countries assessed by the Doing Business Team. India has leapt 30 ranks over its rank of 130 in the Doing Business Report 2017.

The DB Report is an assessment of 190 economies and covers 10 indicators which span the lifecycle of a business. The table below provides a comparison of this year’s and last year’s report. India has improved its rank in 6 out of 10 indicators and has moved closer to international best practices (Distance to Frontier score). The credit for this significant improvement is credited to the mantra of “Reform, Perform, Transform” given by the Prime Minister, wherein a strong leadership has provided the political will to carry out comprehensive and complex reforms, supported by a bureaucracy committed to perform. The Government has undertaken an extensive exercise of stakeholder consultations, identification of user needs, government process re-engineering to match Government rules and procedures with user expectations and streamlined them to create a more conducive business environment. An extensive exercise is also undertaken to increase awareness among users about reforms to ensure extensive use of newly created systems.

This edition of the report acknowledges India as a top improver, with an improvement of 30 ranks compared to last year’s report, the highest jump in rank of any country in the DB Report, 2018. India is the only country in South Asia and BRICS economies to feature among most improved economies of the DB Report this year.

2. Major achievements in the World Bank in the Doing Business Report
The important highlights of India’s performance are:

1. Resolving Insolvency -

a. Rank improved from 136 to 103

b. Distance to Frontier (DTF) score improved from 32.75 to 40.75

c. Strength of insolvency framework index increased from 6 to 8.5

d. Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code created for efficient handling of restructuring & insolvency proceedings

e. Professional institutes set up for handling restructuring & insolvency proceedings

2. Paying Taxes -

a. Rank improved from 172 to 119

b. DTF score improved from 46.58 to 66.06

c. Payments reduced from 25 to 13 in a year

d. Time reduced from 241 to 214 hours

e. Total tax rate reduced from 60.6% to 55.3% (% of profit)

f. Post filing index improved from 4.3 to 49.31

g. Enabled electronic registration, return & payment of ESI & EPF contributions

3. Getting Credit –

a. Rank improved from 44 to 29

b. DTF score improved from 65 to 75

c. Strength of legal rights index improved from 6 to 8

d. Credit bureau coverage increased from 21.4% to 43.5% (% of adults)

e. Increased coverage of security interest registration under SARFAESI Act

f. Secured creditors prioritized over Government dues for purposes of recovery

4. Enforcing Contracts -

a. Rank improved from 172 to 164

b. DTF score improved from 35.19 to 40.76

c. Cost reduced from 39.6% to 31% (% of claim)

d. Quality of judicial process index improved from 9 to 10.3

e. Dedicated commercial courts established

f. National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) to monitor and manage court cases

5. Protecting Minority Investors –

a. Rank improved from 13 to 4

b. DTF score improved from 73.33 to 80

c. Strength of minority investor protection index increased from 7.3 to 8

d. Extent of conflict of interest regulation index increased from 6.7 to 7.3

e. Extent of shareholder governance index increased from 8 to 8.7

f. Greater transparency requirements for interested parties transactions

g. Greater shareholder protection through action against directors & claims for damages

6. Construction Permits -

a. Rank improved from 185 to 181

b. DTF score improved from 32.83 to 38.80

c. Procedures to obtain construction permits reduced from 35.1 to 30.1

d. Time reduced from 190.0 to 143.9 days

e. Cost reduced from 25.9 per cent to 23.2 per cent of warehouse value

Indian Air force contingent leaves for Israel to Participate in ‘Ex Blue Flag-17’

पहली बार इजरायल में संयुक्त युद्धाभ्यास 'ब्लू फ्लैग' में शामिल होगी भारतीय वायु सेना
Indian Air force contingent leaves for Israel to Participate in ‘Ex Blue Flag-17’
#blueflag17
A 45 member contingent of the Indian Air Force left for Israel today to participate in exercise ‘Blue Flag-17’. Blue Flag is a bi-annual multilateral exercise which aims to strengthen military cooperation amongst participating nations. Indian Air Force is participating with the C-130J special operations aircraft along with Garud commandos. The exercise would provide a platform for sharing of knowledge, combat experience and in improving operational capability of the participating nations. The exercise is being conducted at Uvda Air Force Base in Israel from 02-16 Nov 17. The team consists of personnel from various combat elements of the IAF and is led by Gp Capt Maluk Singh VSM.

This is the first time the Indian Air Force is operating with Israeli AF in a multilateral exercise setting. Exercise Blue Flag gives opportunity to the IAF to share and learn best practices with some of the best professionals from other Air Forces.

भारतीय वायु सेना ने इजरायल में होने वाले संंयुक्त युद्धाभ्यास में भाग लेने के लिए C-130J सुपर हरक्यूलिस एयरक्राफ्ट समेत अपना 45 सदस्यीय दस्ता मंगलवार को रवाना किया। भारतीय दस्ते में गरुड़ कमांडो भी शामिल हैं। भारतीय दस्ता यहां 2 से 16 नवंबर तक होने वाले बहुपक्षीय युद्धाभ्यास 'ब्लू फ्लैग-17' में भाग लेगा।
इजरायल के उवादा में होने वाले इस युद्धाभ्यास में भारत और इजरायल के अलावा अमेरिका, फ्रांस, जर्मनी, इटली, यूनान और पोलैंड भी हिस्सा लेंगे। यह पहली बार है जब भारत ने इजरायल में किसी युद्धाभ्यास में भाग लेने के लिए अपनी सैन्य टुकड़ी भेजी हो। पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी की इस साल हुए इजरायल दौरे के बाद यह टुकड़ी अभ्यास के लिए गई है।

एक अधिकारी ने बताया कि ब्लू फ्लैग एक बहुपक्षीय युद्धाभ्यास है। इसके जरिए इसमें हिस्सा लेने वाले देशों के बीच सैन्य सहयोग मजबूत करने का लक्ष्य होता है। उवादा एयर फोर्स बेस पर होने वाले इस अभ्यास में युद्ध कला की बारीकियां सीखने को मिलेंगी।

उन्होंने बताया, 'पहली भारतीय वायु सेना इजरायली वायु सेना के साथ बहुपक्षीय युद्धाभ्यास में भाग लेगी। इस युद्धाभ्यास में हमें दुनिया की बेहतरीन सेनाओं के साथ अनुभव साझा करने और सीखने का मौका मिलेगा।'

India falls to 108 on World Economic Forum’s gender gap index

India falls to 108 on World Economic Forum’s gender gap index
#upscmains
#ukpcsmains
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report says at current rates, it will take 100 years before women achieve equality in the four areas measured by it
If it seems women’s progress has stalled lately, new data from the World Economic Forum puts a finer point on it: The gap between the achievements and well-being of men and women widened in the past year, the first time that’s happened in the 11 years that the group has issued its annual Global Gender Gap Report.

At current rates, it will take 100 years before women achieve equality in the four areas measured by the WEF: political empowerment, economic participation, health and education. When the Geneva-based group did its study last year, it estimated it would take 83 years to close the gap.

“It was a disappointing year,” said Saadia Zahidi, head of education, gender and work at the WEF. The global backsliding reflects a general slowing of progress in the world’s larger economies.

The US fell to 49th among the 144 countries ranked, down from 45th last year and 23rd just 11 years ago. The country is only 77% of the way to gender parity in economic opportunity, a gap that’s been narrowing, but not as quickly as in other countries.

Political imbalance

In politics, women make up less than 20% of Congress and just 17% of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, an imbalance that the WEF says puts the country just 12% of the way to political equality. Women in the US do find parity with men in educational attainment and get close on metrics of health and survival.

India, which sank to No. 108 overall, down 10 places from 2006, was the reverse of the US, with high rankings for women’s political empowerment but near the bottom in health, education and economic participation. Economics is a particular area of concern, Zahidi said, because women do a disproportionate amount of unpaid work, like childcare.

Ranked 100 overall, China was No. 144—dead last—for gender parity when it came to women’s health. One metric was life expectancy: Chinese women outlive men by less than two years on average, compared with a global average of five years. While about 70 percent of Chinese women participate in the work force, they earn only 64% of men’s wages.

Progress signs

The news isn’t all bleak: Countries at the top of the list are continuing to make progress. Women in No. 1 ranked Iceland, for instance, may soon be equal to men in their contribution to the national economy. “That’s a message the world needs to absorb,” Zahidi said. She also cited governments in France and Canada for naming gender-balanced cabinets recently.

The WEF collaborated with LinkedIn to delve more deeply into economic data in selected countries, with a focus on gender imbalance by industry. It found that while women’s numbers have increased in most industries, they are not at parity in leadership in any of them—even in fields such as education, where women make up the majority of employees.

In fact, hiring of women hasn’t increased along with the number of women earning appropriate degrees in areas such as information technology and manufacturing. A large proportion of women are choosing not to go into those fields, Zahidi said, adding that retention of the women who do go into a field is also an issue.

“Gender equality has to be looked at in a holistic way,” Zahidi said. “Just making progress in one area isn’t enough.

.................................

What is the gender gap (and why is it getting wider)?

The world is being deprived of a huge untapped resource.

So says Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, at the launch of its Global Gender Gap Report 2017.

And despite the slow but steady progress made towards gender equality over the past decade, 2017 was not a success.

In fact, the gap between men and women across health, education, politics and economics widened for the first time since records began in 2006.

“Overcoming the biases – unseen or otherwise – that are keeping us from closing the gender gap represents an overwhelming economic as well as moral imperative,” Professor Schwab said.

What is the gender gap?

Image: WEF Global Gender Gap Index
The gender gap is the difference between women and men as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes.

The Global Gender Gap Index aims to measure this gap in four key areas: health, education, economics and politics.

So the gap in economics, for example, is the difference between men and women when it comes to salaries, the number of leaders and participation in the workplace.

Since the report measures these differences irrespective of overall income levels, some relatively poor countries can perform well on the index.

Both Rwanda and Nicaragua are found in the top 10, for example, showing how these countries distribute their resources and opportunities relatively well.

But there is a notable absence of any of the world’s leading industrialized nations – the so-called G20 – within the top 10, showing that economic power is not necessarily a recipe for better equality between the sexes.

Iceland has been the world’s most gender-equal country for nine years, forming part of a trend for Nordic countries to perform especially well.

But Pakistan, Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria all landed in the bottom 10 out of the 144 countries scrutinized.

On average, the 144 countries in the report have nearly closed the gap in health outcomes and educational attainment.

But the gap is still wide open in political and economic participation.
Countries need to pay attention to the gender gap not only because such inequality is inherently unfair.

But also because numerous studies suggest greater gender equality leads to better economic performance.

The report quotes recent estimates that suggest economic gender parity could add an additional $250 billion to the GDP of the UK, $1,750 billion to that of the US and $2.5 trillion to China’s GDP.

At the current rate of progress the overall global gender gap will take a hundred years to close, while the gap in the workplace will now not be closed for 217 years.

It is a gap the world can’t afford to ignore