Daily News Analysis 31st October 2018

Daily News Analysis (Prelims + Mains) – 20th August 2018

General Study – I

Topic:

Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events,
personalities, issues

Statue of Unity

• The Prime Minister dedicates the world’s tallest statue, the “Statue of Unity”, to the Nation, at Kevadiya Village, Narmada District in Gujarat on birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel.
• Statue is located on the river island called Sadhu Bet facing the Sarovar Dam.
• The monument is the world’s tallest statue with the height of 182 meters (597 ft).
• Along with its surroundings it occupies over 20,000 square meters and also surrounded by a 12 square km artificial lake.
• It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar and project was contracted to Larsen & Toubro in October 2014.
• Materia used are Steel Framing, Reinforced Concrete, Bronze Cladding and etc.

Concerns raised

• Local people have opposed land acquisition for tourism infrastructure development around the statue. They also claimed that Sadhu Bet was originally called Varata Bawa Tekri, named after a local deity, and so it was a site of religious importance.
• Environmental activists wrote a letter to the central government that this project started implementation without environmental clearance from the ministry.
• When ₹2 billion (US$28 million) was allocated for the statue in the 2014-15 Union budget, several people and the political parties criticised the expenditure for the statue over other priorities like women’s safety, education and agricultural scheme.

Along with concerns there are advantages like

• Inspire the generation too come about Importance of Unity.
• Statue will attract lot of tourists and legacy of Sardar Patel will be cherished.
• Growth as tourist place will create lot of employement.

Sardar Vallabhai Patel

• He  was born on October 31, 1875 in Nadiad village in present-day Gujarat to Zaverbhai and Ladbai.
• He passed his matriculation in 1897 and then pursued law in England in 1913. He came back to India and started his law practice.
• In Ahmedabad, he met Mahatma Gandhi and after a couple of meetings, came under his spell. He became staunch follower of Gandhi and started involving in political work.
• He led Kheda campaign (1918) against taxation of peasants. Peaceful  movement forced the British authority to return then land taken away from the farmers. His effort to bring together the farmers of his area brought him the title of ‘Sardar’ to his name.
• He was president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee from 1920 till 1945.
• He actively participated in the non-cooperation movement (1920) and organized it. It was then that he discarded his European garb and adopted Khadi.
• He also supported Gandhi when he suspended the non-cooperation movement in the wake of the Chauri Chaura incident.
• In 1928, the farmers of Bardoli in Gujarat faced problem of “tax-hike”. After continues summons, when the farmers refused to pay the extra tax, the government in retaliation seized their lands. Under his leadership the agitation took place and after a deal struck between the government and farmer’s representatives, the lands were returned.
• He was imprisoned during the Dandi Salt March (1930) for participating in the famous Salt Satyagraha called by Mahatma Gandhi. He was released following the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
• He was elected the President of the INC in its Karachi session in 1931. In the Karachi session, the INC committed itself to the defence of fundamental rights and human rights and a dream of a secular nation. He was again arrested in 1932.
• He was chief fundraiser and organiser especially in selecting candidates for the central and provincial assemblies. In 1934, he led the all-India election campaign for the INC. Though he did not contest a seat for himself, Sardar Patel helped his fellow party mates during the election.
• He supported the Quit India Movement. He was arrested along with all prominent national leaders and released only in June 1945.
• Intially he was against Partition of the country, later he understood that it was needed at that time as the Congress and the Muslim League could not see eye to eye on that issue. Also it was needed to control the tide of communal hatred and violence that was spreading throughout the country.
• He represented India on the Partition Council where the division of public assets between the two new nations were overseen.
• He is considered as the Bismarck of India with regard to his stellar contribution in the political integration of the country. He not only played a crucial role during the freedom struggle of India and was instrumental in the integration of over 565 princely states into the Indian Union.
• He was choosen as Deputy Prime minister after indepedence and handled home ministry with utmost maturity.
• He was in charge of the Provincial Constitution Committee and the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas, in the Constituent Assembly of India.
• He was called as “Father of Indian civil service” for his role in setting up the modern civil services of India. He called the services the ‘steel frame’ of the country’s government machinery.
• He died in Bombay of a massive heart attack on 15 December 1950.
• He was awarded the highest honour Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1991.
• His birth anniversary is observed as National Unity Day ( Rashtriya Ekta Diwas ) since 2014.

General Study – II

Topic:

Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

Context: Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder has clearly exposed the brutal nature of the Saudi Arabian regime

Consequence:

• Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s r statement in the Turkish Parliament calling the killing “pre-meditated murder”
• The Turkish press has made public the goriest details of the murder. It is clear that the Turkish political elite is relishing the embarrassment this case has caused the Saudi regime

The American Factor:

• President Donald Trump over the last two years (which included making Riyadh the destination of his first foreign trip) that Saudi Arabia had become the kingpin of America’s policy toward West Asia.
• Turkey’s relations with the U.S. came under strain because of major differences in their approach to the Syrian Kurds.
• The U.S. militarily supported the Kurdish YPG militia in the fight against the Islamic State, while Turkey, which considers the YPG an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), vehemently opposed such a move
• Turkey’s decision to buy the S-400 anti-missile defence systems from Russia has also added to the tensions.
• The visible U.S. tilt toward Riyadh has further fuelled the existing differences between Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Their disagreements were augmented by the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2011
• Turkey enthusiastically welcomed the overthrow of authoritarian governments while the Saudi regime, feeling vulnerable itself, strongly opposed them.
• Matters came to a head when a military coup in Egypt in 2013 led to the overthrow of Egypt’s President Morsi, who belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood

The Qatar Angle:

• Saudi Arabia imposed a blockade on Qatar in 2017, principally to punish it for its cordial relationship with Iran, with which it shares the world’s largest natural gas field.
• Qatar also has close relations with Turkey and hosts a Turkish military base.
• The Emir of Qatar had sent a contingent of soldiers to provide security to Mr. Erdoğan during the failed military coup in 2016
• Turkey is interested in keeping its relations with Iran on an even keel because Iran is a major supplier of energy
• Turkey and Iran were on opposite sides in the Syrian conflict, with Iran supporting the Assad regime politically and militarily and Turkey acting as the principal conduit for weapons supplies to the opposition
• Rapprochement among Ankara, Moscow and Tehran indicate that a modus vivendihas been worked out between Iran and Turkey on defining their spheres of influence in Syria.

India’s “Look West” policy

India adopted look west policy in 2005. However, the policy did not get much attention since 2005. Prime Minister Narendra Modi to number of west Asia countries has the potential to transform our engagement with West Asia.

Change in West Asian strategic thinking

• Several factors have contributed to this fundamental shift in West Asian strategic thinking.
• The structural change in the global energy market with West Asian oil and gas increasingly heading to South and East Asian markets rather than to the Trans-Atlantic markets.
• Partly as a consequence of this change in flows and partly owing to the fiscal stress faced by the trans-Atlantic economies, West Asia is looking to India and other Asian powers to step in and offer securityguarantees to the region. Many GCC states have welcomed defence cooperation agreements with India.
• In the wake of the Arab Spring and the mess in Egypt and Iraq, the Gulf states find India and China to be more reliable interlocutors than many western states.

• Under pressure from radical and extremist political forces within West Asia, most states in the region have come to value the Indian principle of seeking and securing regional stability as an over-riding principle of regional security.

Way Forward:

• These pre-existing differences between the two countries as well as genuine anger at the heinous crime in Turkey’s leading city have provided Ankara both the high moral ground as well as the opportunity to discredit the Saudi regime — especially the Crown Prince whom Mr. Erdoğan detests — and to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and the U.S.

General Study – III

Topic:

Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights

Universities and patents

• Patents help universities to improve their ranking, establish an innovation ecosystem, incubate knowledge-based start-ups, earn additional revenue and measure research activity
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all universities in India to set up Intellectual Property (IP) Centres.
• The dearth of IP professionals is a problem related to the field of intellectual property itself.
• Its recent rise to prominence in the international arena, thanks to various international treaties and trade agreements, along with the legal-centric approach where law schools and colleges are the only institutions which mandate teaching these subjects, are reasons why the supply of IP professionals is not keeping pace with demand. But there is a great opportunity now that should not be missed

Patent exam

• The Central government conducted the competitive examination to test proficiency in patent law, a type of intellectual property right (IPR).
• Any Indian citizen with a bachelor’s degree in science or technology can take the examination.
• Upon clearing it the person is entitled to practise before the Patent Office as a registered patent agent.
• Qualifying the exam allows science graduates to draft, file and procure patents from the Patent Office on behalf of inventors.
• India witnessed significant changes in IPRs since the introduction of the National IPR Policy in 2016.
• The grants rates at the Patent Office have increased: in 2017-2018, there was a 32% increase in the number of patents granted compared to the earlier year.
• The Patent Office increased its workforce with the inclusion of 459 new examiners and is on the lookout for more.
• The timeline for filing responses to official objections for patents has been reduced by
• While the disposal rate has increased, the filing rate for patents has not changed significantly.
• In 2016-17, the Patent Office reported a dip of 3.2% in filing compared to the previous financial year.

Centres in universities

• The new policy has pushed universities to file more patents. Kindled by the call to have more IPRs, the higher education sector has witnessed many reforms.
• The UGC’s call to universities, highlighted earlier, has come after a series of policy directives to introduce awareness about IP in higher educational institutions.
• The number of patents applied for, granted and commercialised by universities and institutes is factored in in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings: no surprise that the top ranked engineering institutes in India are also the leading filers of patents
• Whether a higher educational institute has an innovation ecosystem could also have a bearing, with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, awarding up to 24 points to an institute which sets up an innovation ecosystem and has a facility for identifying and promoting IPRs
• The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) model curriculum for its member institutions lays emphasis on the need for IPR education in technical institutes.
• India has a poor patent agent density, with only about 2,000 registered patent agents currently in practice.

Way ahead

• The ambitious goal set by India’s IPR Policy will be realised only when the examination becomes the foundation for making a career in IPR.
• In a dynamic field such as intellectual property, in order to create a band of qualified IP professionals there should be a push towards post-qualification continuous education as well.
• To achieve this, the format, membership, syllabus and the frequency of the patent agent examination will need to be addressed.
• This will not only increase the number and quality of IP professionals in the country but also become a new career choice for graduates with a degree in science and technology.

Topic for Prelims

World Map Work based on current affairs.

Seven Arab states which border the Persian Gulf,

1. Bahrain,
2. Iraq
3. Kuwait
4. Oman
5. Qatar
6. Saudi Arabia
7. United Arab Emirates(UAE).

The six countries bordering the Red Sea

1. Saudi Arabia.
2. Yemen
3. Egypt
4. Sudan
5. Eritrea
6. Djibouti.

INS Tarangini returns after Voyage across the World

The sail training ship of Indian Navy, INS Tarangini based at Kochi, returned after a seven month long sailing across the world to a grand reception at naval base, Kochi on 30 Oct 2018.

INS Tarangini

• It is three-masted barque, commissioned in 1997 as a sail training ship for the Indian Navy.
• It is square rigged on the fore and main masts and fore-and-aft rigged on the mizzen mast.
• It was constructed in Goa to a design by the British naval and launched in 1995.
• The word Tarangini means ‘the one that rides the waves’.
• It is the first of two Sail Training Ships in the First Training Squadron, the other being INS Sudarshini.
• The primary role of these Sail Training Ships is to develop character and professionalism, as well as inculcate the qualities of initiative, courage, resilience and esprit-de-corps amongst the Sea Trainees and also impart practical training to them, primarily on navigation, sailing and seamanship.
• It is the first ship of the Indian Navy to have circumnavigated the globe in the year 2003-04.

About Voyage

• The Voyage named as Lokayan 18 was flagged off on 10 Apr 2018 from Kochi, three previous Lokayans during 2005, 2007 and 2015.
• During the voyage, the ship has proudly ‘shown the flag’ and highlighted the diverse culture of India across 15 ports in 13 countries.
• The ship sailed across the Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, Strait of Gibraltar, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, English Channel and North Sea, right up to Norway before commencing her homeward passage back to Kochi.
• The ship participated in the culminating event of the Three Festival Tall Ships Regatta at Bordeaux, France.
• Also participated in Tall Ships Races Europe 2018 which started at Sunderland, UK and touched Esbjerg, Denmark and Stavanger, Norway before finishing at Harlingen, Netherlands.

Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)

The Nineteenth Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) under the Chairmanship of the Union Finance Minister held.

The Council discussed at length the issue of real interest rate, current liquidity situation, including segmental liquidity position in NBFCs and mutual fund space.

The Council also deliberated on the need for identifying and securing critical information infrastructure in financial sector, challenges of Crypto Assets/Currency.

The Council decided that the Regulators and the Government would keep a close watch on the developing situation and take all necessary measures.

About FSDC

FSDC has been constituted via GOI notification dated 30th December, 2010.

The FSDC  is chaired by the Union Finance Minister .

Its members are

• Governor, Reserve Bank of India;
• Finance Secretary and/or Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs
• Secretary, Department of Financial Services
• Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance
• Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India
• Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
• Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.

The FSDC deals with issues relating to financial stability, financial sector development, inter–regulatory coordination, financial literacy, financial inclusion and macro prudential supervision of the economy including the functioning of large financial conglomerates.

The FSDC and its Sub-Committee (chaired by Governor, Reserve Bank of India) deliberate on agenda items proposed by any of the members of the Council which broadly include matters relating to financial stability, inter-regulatory coordination, and financial sector development.