💥Karnataka, 1st Indian State to Approve e-vehicle Policy
💥 India Launches ‘Operation Insaniyat’ to Help Bangladesh
💥 Google to Launch Mobile Payment Service in India
💥 74th Venice Film Festival Awards 2017
✨List of Awards are as follows-
1. Golden Lion - Best Movie
The Shape of Water, directed by Guillermo del Toro

2. Grand Jury Prize
Foxtrot, directed by Samuel Maoz

3. Silver Lion - Best Director
Xavier Legrand (for Jusqu’à la Garde)

4. Volpi Cup - Best Actress
Charlotte Rampling (for Hannah)

5. Volpi Cup - Best Actor
Kamel El Basha (for The Insult)

💥 Former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was elected as Chair of Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a four-year term.
💥 The International Day of Democracy is observed across the world on 15 September. The theme for the year 2017 is ‘Democracy and Conflict prevention’.
💥 Goa to Host 36th National Games
💥'Unstoppable: My Life So Far' authored by Maria Sharapova.

Blue Whale game

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The Supreme Court asked the government to respond to a petition for an immediate direction to ban online game ‘Blue Whale Challenge, which is suspected to be behind the deaths or attempted suicides of teenagers and young adults hooked to it.

A Bench, led by the Chief Justice of India, issued notice to the government on a petition by advocate C.R. Jaya Sukin, representing another lawyer N.S. Ponnaiah, who wanted the government to take immediate steps to spread awareness about the dangers of playing the game and end its availability online. The court asked Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal to assist the court.

It is argued before the Bench that the government, till now, had not taken sufficient steps even as the number of cases of self-inflicted injuries and suicides were increasing.

The petition said the game had spread its tentacles across the cities and was enticing even school students to play.

The game goads young people into killing themselves. The blue whale on-line game encourages people to take part in increasingly dangerous harmful dares that finally culminate in instructions by the administrators to kill themselves.

Terror attack in London
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Terror attack with IED during rush hour triggers mass panic at railway station

Britain faced its fifth terrorism incident in 2017 as an improvised explosive device triggered an explosion on a rush-hour tube train at Parsons Green in southwest London injuring at least 22 people and triggering mass panic at the station. Unconfirmed reports said 29 people were injured.

Prime Minister Theresa May chaired a meeting of the emergency COBRA committee, as Britain’s terror threat remained at severe, meaning a terror attack was highly likely.

The Metropolitan police urged members of the public to remain calm and alert and for those who had images of the scene to upload them on a police website.

The explosion took place at around 8.20 in the morning when the device on the district line tube train, travelling from southwest London to Paddington went off, creating what witnesses on the train described as a “fireball.”

Images circulating on social media appeared to show a white bucket within a supermarket bag. One witness, who suffered burns on his scalp, spoke of others who were badly burnt, while others spoke of the panic that ensued after the incident as, after the doors were quickly opened, people attempted to exit the station through its single narrow stairwell.

Blast on the London Tube highlights the challenge facing large metropolitan centres 
blast at London Tube that injured at least 22 people highlighted the challenge facing large metropolitan centres, amid a new wave of terror attacks, some of which appear to be carried out by lone agents, often using low-tech weapons such as vehicles, knives or home made devices.

The incident, fifth terror attack this year in Britain, is also likely to reignite the domestic debate regarding funding of emergency services in the country, amid austerity cutbacks to resources and constraints on pay — issues that were raised by the Labour Party following previous attacks.

This attack comes 12 years after 52 people were killed on terrorist bombings on London buses and tubes, and after the March attack on Westminster Bridge and outside the Houses of Parliament that killed five people.

Less than a month after the attack on the Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester in May, 11 people were killed in another attack around London Bridge station. In June, a man was killed outside the Finsbury Park Mosque in north London. Nineteen terrorist plots have been foiled in Britain since June 2013, while 379 people were arrested for terrorism related offences across the country in the twelve months to June.

Golden throne assembled ahead of Dasara

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The throne is brought out only during Dasara and assembled in the Amba Vilas section for khas durbar

In the run-up to the Navaratri festival to be celebrated by members of the Wadiyar family, the golden throne which plays a significant part in their ceremonies, was assembled.

The throne, which is dismantled and placed in the strongroom under security throughout the year, is brought out only during Dasara and assembled in the Amba Vilas section for khas durbar.

It was out under the supervision of the priests and entailed the involvement of 15 persons from Gejjagalli, who are traditionally engaged for this task.

The throne comprises three parts, including the main seat, a staircase, and the golden umbrella.

There are various theories about the origin of the throne and as per one legend, it belonged to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata fame. It was brought from Hastinapura to Penugonda and was lost to posterity until it was retrieved in 1336 A.D. by Vidyaranya who was the royal preceptor to the founders of the Vijayanagar empire.

It was transferred to the Wadiyars who were the governors to the Vijayanagar rulers after the fall of the empire. But as per historical accounts, it was gifted to ChikkadevarajaWadiyar in 1700 A.D. by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

The golden throne is open to the public only during the Dasara and is shifted to the strongroom after the completion of the festivities.

What is Regulatory Sandbox in terms of economy? What are its Benefits?Comment
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Model Answer:

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A regulatory sandbox is an experimental oversight mechanism for innovative products and services that do not fall into an existing regulatory regime or cut across traditional regulators’ domains. Such innovations are permitted to operate for a limited period of time at a limited scale to understand its efficacy and implications, so that the best alternatives for regulation can be evolved based on concerns that emerge.

The sandbox needs to be designed to adopt this unified consumer-centric lens through a single integrated sandbox, serving all four financial sector regulators… technology will always be ahead of regulation like RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA.

NITI AAYOG approach this mechanism because India’s financial sectors regulators hinders ideas in the financial technology sector.

Benefits of Sandbox:

Twin objectives of nurturing financial innovation and safeguarding consumer interests.

Graet way to unlock innovation for mass public adoption .

Will be a boost for Start Up .

Globally regulatory sandboxes have been introduces in the UK , Singapore, Australia UAE etc.

Economic Times

 

Business Standard

Ø  Government to sell Air India properties owned by them

Ø  HPCL plans Rs 61,000 crore investment in 5 years

Ø  CAD seen at 1.2-1.3 per cent of GDP in FY18: Icra

Ø  Tata Motors plans to breathe fresh life into its PV portfolio

Ø  Just two bidders for Rs 37k cr Aamby Valley auction

Ø  Gold imports jump three-fold to $15 bn in April-Aug

Ø  SES urges Bharti shareholders to reject Telenor deal

 

Ø  Fosun Pharma to buy 74% stake in Gland for $1.09 billion

Ø  Drug makers dial foreign regulators on quality issues

Ø  Sebi board to take stock of suspected shell cos on Monday

Ø  Tata Motors eyes larger share of utility market with SUV Nexon

Ø  GSTN reopens composition scheme window for small businesses

Ø  Members want preferential treatment in NSE's Rs 10Kcr IPO

Business Line

 

Mint

Ø  Banks to gain as steel sector shows signs of growth

Ø  India likely to be 3rd largest economy by 2028: HSBC

Ø  Monnet Ispat: IRP calls for expression of interest

Ø  CVC to probe govt employees deposits post demonetisation

Ø  FPIs pull out Rs. 3,000 cr from stocks in September so far 

 

Ø  India-Japan ties set on high growth trajectory

Ø  SBI reviewing minimum balance charges for savings accounts

Ø  Govt may raise over Rs15,000 crore from share sale of 2 PSU insurers

Ø  TVS Motor to roll out electric two-wheelers soon

Financial Express

 

Financial Chronicle

Ø  External debt of India drops 2.7 pct to $471.9 bn, records first such drop in 5 years

Ø  Government asks state-owned banks to discuss ways to merge at board level

Ø  Bankruptcy board to register 100 more insolvency professionals to add to 940

Ø  Indian start-up Kheyti wins prestigious award in Israel

 

Ø  Mergers boost finance sector consolidation

Ø  GIC Re IPO next month, over 14% stake dilution can fetch up to Rs 11k cr

Ø  Govt to monitor iron ore output

Ø  Centre eyes record rabi crop output

Ø  RBI may keep policy rate on hold till FY18-end

Question : How Party- Political Secularism Corrupted Constitutional Secularism ? (20 Marks/250 Words)

Model Answer :
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Indian secularism was unfairly charged by its opponents as a pro-minority doctrine. In India, the situation till at least the 20th century was completely different because, there has been no attempt to liquidate religious diversity. The state has always found ways of dealing with all religious groups. Under modern conditions, this practice developed into a defence of religious pluralism. The state had to respect all religions, treat them non-preferentially. India’s constitutional secularism requires that the Indian state be neither wholly respectful nor disrespectful to religions. Critical respect for all religions is the hallmark of Indian secularism.

To understand India’s constitutional secularism, it is best to contrast it with European conceptions. Each European state closely aligned itself with one or the other dominant church in society. Thus, England became Anglican, Scandinavia became Lutheran, Spain and Italy became Catholic, Denmark became Calvinist, and so on. Over time, however, the church was seen to become too politically meddlesome and socially oppressive. A movement for ‘un-churching’, or curtailing the power of the church, separated themselves from the dominant church. Thus, the separation of state and church became the defining feature of European and later American secularisms.

But in the last 40 years or so, we have developed another secularism, called ‘party-political secularism’, an odd, nefarious ‘doctrine’ practised by political parties, particularly the so-called “secular forces”. This secularism has dispelled principles from the core idea and replaced them with opportunism; opportunistic distance from all religious communities is its slogan. Thus political parties keep off religion or intervene as and when it best suits their party or electoral interests. Electoral politics has sidelined or corrupted our constitutional secularism and breeds opportunism. (Total Words- 278)

What should be the code of ethics if there would be any for the civil servants? Comment

Model Answer:
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The objective of the Code was to prescribe standards of integrity and conduct that are to apply to public services. The salient features of the code are as follows :

1. The public services should assist the government in formulating and implementing policies and administering public services in the most effective way.

2. Employees in public services should uphold the rule of law and respect for human rights, and act solely in public interest. They must maintain the highest standards of probity and integrity.

3. They should conduct themselves in such manner that the public feels that the decisions taken or recommendations made by them are objective and transparent and are not calculated to promote improper gains for the political party in power, for themselves, or for any third party.

4. They should not seek to frustrate or undermine the policies, decisions and action taken in public interest by Government by declining or abstaining from action.

5. Where an employee in public service has reasonable grounds to believe that he or she is being required by superior authority to act in a manner which is illegal or against prescribed rules and regulations, he should decline to implement the instructions. He will have right to bring the fact to the notice of superior authority.

6. Conflict of Interest : Employees in public service should refrain from decisions; i) which are calculated to benefit any particular person or party at the expense of the public interest; ii) shall disclose any clash of interest when there is conflict between public interest and private interest.

7. They should maintain their independence and dignity and impartiality by not approaching politicians and outsiders in respect of service matters or private benefits, and exercise peer pressure to dissuade those within their own cadre who do so and to set in motion disciplinary proceedings against such persons.

8. Accountability to Citizens : i) Employees in public services should be accessible to the people and practice accountability to them in terms of quality of service, timeliness, courtesy, people orientation, and readiness to encourage participation and form partnership with citizen groups for responsive government ii) they should be consistent, equitable and honest in their treatment of the members of the public, iii) they should accept obligation to recognize and enforce citizen’s right for speedy redressal of their grievance.

9. They should have concern for public assets and funds, avoid wastage and extravagance and ensure effective and efficient use of public money within their control.

10. Non- abuse of official position : Employees in public services have a responsibility to take decisions on merits, as they are in a position of trust, they must not use their official position to influence any person to enter into financial or other arrangements with them or any one else.

Health Insurance in India

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Countries such as' Brazil, Bolivia, Indonesia and Thailand, all characterised earlier by situations of high inequality and uneven access to health care systems, have revamped policies since the 1980s towards universal health care. The 30 baht scheme in Thailand, decentralisation reforms and social health insurance in Indonesia, and the unified health system in Brazil provide examples of how countries have addressed basic health requirements of the entire population. These examples indicate that strengthening of the primary health care system is a prerequisite for achieving universal health coverage.

Health insurance in India began with Employment State Insurance Scheme (ESIS) and the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) that cater to government employees and their dependants. These schemes focus on high-end secondary and tertiary care and together provide protection to less than 10 per cent of the India's population working in public sector undertakings.

A conditional cash transfer scheme Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) was introduced in 2005 to encourage institutional deliveries among poor women in rural areas. The scheme led to substantial improvement in institutional delivery, particularly in poorer states, though it has not necessarily translated into a reduction in the maternal mortality rate.

The Rashtriya Swasthiya Bima Yojana (RSBY) was launched in 2008, to provide financial protection against catastrophic health expenditure for vulnerable groups and to ensure better access to quality health care for people below the poverty line. Though initially the scheme was to cover only BPL families, it was. extended to vulnerable groups in the informal sector such as rickshaw pullers and rag pickers. The scheme provides a coverage of Rs. 30000 in case of hospital based inpatient care, on an annual registration fee of Rs. 30 by the beneficiary for the family. The coverage limit has recently been enhanced to one lakh rupees. RSBY coverage as on end March 2016 was 41.3 million families out of an eligible 72.8 million families. Total hospitalization cases however were only 11.8 million pointing to low utilisation of the scheme. Further, evidence from the field indicates that one of the main desired outcomes of the RSBY, to reduce the financial burden of health expenditure among the poor, may not have been realized and Out- of-Pocket (OOP) expenditures have not diminished" owing to payments for drugs and diagnostics and other inpatient services not covered by RSBY, additional transport expenses and the like. The RSBY performance is better in states such as Kerala, that have built a good health care infrastructure.

Atleast eight state governments are operating health insurance schemes, prominent among them being Vajpayee Arogyashri Scheme (VAS) for BPL families and Yeshasvini Cooperative Farmers Healthcare Scheme in Karnataka, Rajiv Gandhi Arogyasri Scheme (RAS) in Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana), CM Health Insurance Scheme in Tamil Nadu, Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana in Maharashtr a, Mukhyamantri Amrutam Yojana in Gujarat, and Sanjeevani Kosh in Chhattisgarh. Of these, RAS of Andhra Pradesh with 8.5 per cent coverage is closest to universal health care. However, due to its orientation towards secondary and tertiary care, nearly half of the payments were for cardiac, cancer and kidney failure whereas for the poorest 40 percent of the population, the burning issues continue to be premature mortality and disability due to lower respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis and ischemic heart disease, all of which need attention and can actually be treated at the primary level. Overall, as of 2015, some form of health security is being provided to more than 280 million or about one fourth of the population, through insurance programmes run by the government, viz., CGHS, ESIS, state specific insurance schemes, and RSBY. However, none of the central or the state level insurance schemes cover primary care in the insurance package, with the exception of Me

ghalaya that provides partial coverage. All of Achieving universal health coverage is listed as care.
goal 3.8 in the Sustainable Development Goals agenda for 2030. India's performance holds the key to achieving this global aspiration.

National Medical Commission Bill, 2016
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Salient Provisions

The bill seeks to address the following:

Ensure adequate supply of high quality medical professionals at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Encourage medical professionals to incorporate the latest medical research in their work and to contribute to such research.
Provide for objective periodic assessments of medical institutions.
Facilitate the maintenance of a medical register for India and enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services.
Ensure that the medical institutes are flexible enough to adapt to the changing needs of a transforming nation.
Medical advisory council

The bill seeks to constitute a Medical Advisory Council which will undertake the following functions:

The Council shall serve as the primary platform through which the states would put forward their views and concerns before the National Medical Commission (NMC) and shall help shape the overall agenda in the field of medical education & training.
The Council shall advise the NMC on the measures to determine, maintain and coordinate the minimum standards in the discipline of medical education, training and research.
The Council shall advise the NMC on measures to enhance equitable access to medical education

GBD 2016 has shown that, non communicable diseases constitute seven of the top ten causes of death in India. The leading cause of mortality was ischemic heart disease.

The Law Commission of India in its 230th report has also offered a long list of measures to deal with the pendency of cases
These include
(1) providing strict guidelines for the grant of adjournments
(2) curtailing vacation time in the higher judiciary
(3) reducing the time for oral arguments unless the case involves a complicated question of law
(4) and framing clear and decisive judgements to avoid further litigation

Why does the olympic flag only contain black, green, Red, Blue and yellow Rings on a field of white?

The Olympic flag's colors are always red, black, blue, green, and yellow rings on a field of white. This is because at least one of those colors appears on the flag of every nation on the planet.

Why NASA crashed the $4 billion Cassini spacecraft into Saturn?

On Friday, September 15, around 7:55 am EDT, NASA watched its 20-year-old, $4 billion-plus spacecraft to crash into Saturn.
The space agency really has no other choice. Cassini is nearly out of fuel, and has already been stretched years beyond its intended mission duration. What’s more, keeping it going risks potentially contaminating one of Saturn’s moons — like Enceladus, an ice world that has some ingredients for life, or Titan, a dynamic moon where it rains methane — with microbes from Earth.
And so the spacecraft will end its existence by literally going where no human-made object has gone before: into Saturn’s atmosphere.

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What is BioPhoton therapy?

BioPhoton Therapy is a new technique which is effective in the treatment of soft tissue injuries, reduction of pain, promotion of wound healing, and provides therapy for arthritic conditions.
Benefits of Biophoton Therapy. A new protocol that combines ozone therapy and light therapy is now available to people who seek relief from lingering viruses, painful infections and autoimmune disease. This new service is called Biophoton therapy, and is also often referred to as UVBI Therapy or UVB Light Therapy.

What is the difference between brown and white sugar?

The main difference between raw (brown) sugar and white sugar is thatbrown hasn't completely been refined. Raw sugar is 96% pure, the rest is molasses (still containing minerals), while white sugar is pure calories (4 calories per gram). The crystals are spun in a centrifuge, which removes molasses.

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Electrification of all Villages is one of the most important objectives of this government.

Electrification Scheme
Government has launched a Rs 16,320-crore scheme to supply electricity to all households by December 2018,
This scheme will provide free connections to the poor and at very low cost to others
Scheme: The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojna, named ‘Saubhagya‘
Rural Electrification Corp will be the nodal agency for the scheme
While public institutions and panchayats will be authorised to collect applications forms, distribute bills and collect payments
Particulars of the Scheme
It aims to improve the environment, public health, education and connectivity with the help of last-mile power connections across India
It will help reduce the use of kerosene lamps in non-electrified households
States that complete the scheme by December next year would be given an additional 15% grant by the Centre as incentive
The scheme is being funded to the extent of 60% by central grants, 30% by bank loans and 10% by states
Under the scheme, electricity connections will be given free to people identified by the Socio Economic and Caste Census of 2011
The scheme promises on-the-spot registration of applications.

INDIAN ECONOMY

Growth process has slowed down in recent month. Government is weighing the pros and cons of using fiscal stimulus as a policy to counter the slowdown in growth process.

Even as there is talk that the government is planning a fiscal push to support growth, strong dissenting voices are suggesting that all hell will break loose. Comparisons are being made with the 2008 stimulus and dire warnings are being issued
Why Counter Fiscal policy push to the economy cannot be misconstrued as similar to the fiscal policy of 2008?
In 2008 India provided fiscal stimulus of 1.8% of GDP which was far less than provided by its Asian counterparts and several other countries — Korea, US, China, South Africa.
The runaway inflation that followed was not entirely because of fiscal stimulus. Other factors to contributed like debt waiver, pay commissions recommendations, increase in MSP.
There are common elements like Pay Commission recommendations and loan waivers in the current economic scenario and that of 2008.
But, the Pay Commission’s recommendations as a percentage of the incremental PFCE (private final capital expenditure) are down to 9 per cent in FY17 from 22 per cent in FY09. Thus, a less boom in consumption.
Unlike earlier years no arrears have to be paid.
The loan waivers are unlikely to fuel inflation, as inflation has structurally corrected from double digits to low single digits in the last three years, and rural demand is now at multi-year lows.
Procurement price increases in the last three years have been moderate and do not threaten inflation.
Fiscal expansion got a bad name because in India it has been largely pro-cyclical. But, counter-cyclical policy is more effective. This means that deficits should decline when the economy is expanding and increase during economic downturns.
 
Way Forward
Policy should now focus on structural bottlenecks and not on putting money in the hands of consumers.
Recapitalise public sector banks through widely-discussed recapitalization bonds
The government need not raise immediate tax revenues and the government should avoid crowding out private borrowings .
The fiscal package could also include sector-specific measures, such as on sectors like exports, telecom, construction and power.
Last years textile package of support for wage costs and interest subvention could be expanded. Some successful state-level initiatives, as in the garment sector in Odisha, can be expanded nationally.
Affordable housingoffers multiplier effect. It helps the construction sector and has the maximum employment elasticity.
Resolution of stressed assets must be focused, the National Company Law Tribunal infrastructure needs further ramping up.
Structural and deep reforms like GST, RERA, monetary policy framework and move to less-cash and digital economy, will all pay back over the longer term.  But, create uncertainity in shorter term so it needs deft policy and perception management.
India needs to correct imbalances in regional growth, and the urban-rural divide, and addressing the woes of the farm sector.
Conclusion:
There is much work to do, but for this year, we need a definite fiscal push.
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Procyclical Fiscal Policy
This fiscal policy goes in line with the current mood of the business cycle; amplifying them.
Boom: total government spending as a percentage of GDP goes up and tax rates go down, increasing government deficit..
Recession: total government spending as a percentage of GDP goes down and tax rates go up, decreasing government deficit.
Such a policy is dangerous and undesirable as it brings instability in the economy.
The Economic Survey 2017 also acknowledge some procyclicality during boom periods in India.
Countercyclical Fiscal Policy
It refers to strategy by the government to counter boom or recession through fiscal measures.
It works against the ongoing boom or recession trend; thus, trying to stabilize the economy.
Boom– Increasing taxes and reducing public expenditure. This will help to slow down the demand and thus keeping inflation under control.
Re

cession- Reducing taxes and increasing expenditure will help to create demand and producing upswing in the economy.