Goaltide Daily Current Affairs
Current Affair 1:
Dhrupad maestro Ramakant Gundecha dead
It is sad for the nation that he passed away, but to decrease sadness further in life (if we don’t learn basic about Dhrupad and it comes in exam), we have to learn about Dhrupad.
First see, what is Hindustani Music.
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is an Indian classical music tradition. It is influenced by ancient Hindu musical traditions and Vedic philosophy and also by the Persian elements. It is primarily vocal-centric. It focuses more on the musical structure and the possibilities of improvisation in it. The major vocal forms associated with Hindustani classical music are the dhrupad, khayal, thumri, tappa and tarana.
Dhrupad
Dhrupad style of singing is traditionally performed by men with a tanpura and pakhawaj (musical instruments). The lyrics sung in Dhrupad are in a medieval form of Hindi and typically heroic in theme or in praise of a particular deity.
It is one of the oldest forms of Hindustani classical music.
Dhrupad consolidated its position as a classical form of music in the 13th century and it reached its zenith in the court of Emperor Akbar.
He employed and patronized musical masters like BabaGopal Das, Swami Haridas and Tansen, who was considered to be one of the Navratans or nine gems of the Mughal court.
Khayal
The origin of this style was attributed to Amir Khusrau. This form is popular amongst the artists as it provides greater scope for improvisation. Khayal is based on the repertoire of short songs. Generally, a khayal composition is also referred to as a 'Bandish'.
It becomes popular in the reign of Hussain Shah Sharqui, the 15th century ruler of the Sharqui dynasty. In this style Gwalior Gharana, Kirana Gharana and Agra Gharana are famous.
Thumri
It is based on mixed ragas and is commonly considered to be semi-classical Indian music. The compositions are either romantic or devotional in nature. This was inspired by the Bhakti movement. The text usually revolves around the girl's love for Krishna. The language of the composition is usually Hindi or Awadhi dialect or the Braj Bhasha dialect. The compositions are usually sung in a female voice.
Tappa
In this style the rhythm plays a very important role as the compositions are based on fast, subtle and knotty constructions. It originated from the folk songs of the camel riders of North-west India.
But it gained legitimacy as a semi-classical vocal specialty once it was brought to the Mughal court of emperor Muhammad Shah. There is a great use of very quick turn of phrases. Tappa was the genre of choice of the Wealthy elite as well as the classes with more modest means. Today, the style is getting extinct and no one is getting involved with it. Some of the very few expounders of this style are Mian Sodi, Pandit Laxman Rao of Gwalior.
Tarana
In this style the rhythm plays a very crucial role. The structure consists of a mainly melody, usually short, repeated many times, with variation and elaboration at the performer's discretion.
It uses many words that are sung at a fast tempo. They focus on producing rhythmic matters and hence, the singers need specialized training and skills in rhythmic manipulation.
Current Affair 2:
India Justice Report 2019
The Indian Justice report ranks 18 large and 7 small states according to their capacity to deliver justice to all.
This first of its kind initiative was supported and facilitated by Tata Trusts in partnership with Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
It uses government data to assess the budgets, infrastructure, human resources, workloads, diversity and 5-year trends of police, prisons, judiciary and legal aid in each state, against its own declared standards.
Now, we will see what the sub-indicators under 4 pillars are.
Now, just see once the ranking of various states on various indicators.
Conclusion of Report with 7 suggestions: This is important for your mains exam.
On the one hand the data on police, prisons, legal aid and the judiciary that the India Justice Report has brought together provides strong evidence that the whole system requires urgent repair. On the other hand, the segmentation of the data into budgets, human resources, infrastructure, workload and diversity helps to pinpoint areas of infirmity where quick improvements can be made with relative ease and have the real potential to cause knock on effects that will spur improvements down the line.
The report provides below seven ‘nudges’ that will stimulate change. These will assist each state in creating momentum for reform, improve its future ranking and more importantly improve access to justice for all.
Do we have any constitutional provisions regarding Judicial Systems?
- Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides that State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disability.
- Articles 14 and Article 22(1) also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before the law and a legal system that promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity to all.
We will also see 2019 Rule of Law Index, where India stands on various indicators.
Current Affair 3:
Internet Freedom Report 2019
The ‘Freedom on Net’ report by an international NGO Freedom House, analyses the extent of internet freedom across the world by considering the various restrictions that that have been imposed on the internet across the world.
Key findings:
- Iceland became the world’s best protector of internet freedom, having registered no civil or criminal cases against users for online expression during the coverage period.
- China confirmed its status as the world’s worst abuser of internet freedom for the fourth consecutive year.
- Internet freedom declined in the United States.
- Governments harness big data for social media surveillance.
- Free expression is under assault.
- More governments enlist bots and fake accounts to manipulate social media
- Digital platforms are the new battleground for democracy.
About India:
India has got 55 points and hence accordingly, it has been placed under the partly free category.
Current Affair 4:
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a so-called mega-regional economic agreement being negotiated since 2012 between the 10 ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) governments and their six FTA partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. Now, after India withdrawal, it is left with 15 partners.
It is billed as the “largest” regional trading agreement ever — these countries account for almost half of the world’s population, contribute over a quarter of world exports, and make up around 30% of global Gross Domestic Product (the value of all goods and services produced in a year). But after India left, numbers will change.
Now we will come to its most important news of RCEP:
After recent months of back and forth attempting to negotiate a better trade agreement for India to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Indian government decided not to join the trade forum and be excluded from what has been seen as one of the biggest plurilateral free-trade partnerships in the world. Modi said:
Now most important things for Prelims:
Understand Free Trade Agreements
FTAs are arrangements between two or more countries or trading blocs that primarily agree to reduce or eliminate customs tariff and non-tariff barriers on substantial trade between them. We will now try to connect it with WTO.
To develop a relation between WTO and FTA, we have to understand here Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle of WTO.
Article 1 of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) which enunciates the most favoured nation (MFN) principle of WTO states that "any advantage, favour, privilege, or immunity granted by any contracting party to any product originating in or destined for any other country shall be accorded immediately and unconditionally to the like product originating in or destined for the territories of all other contracting parties."
Basically, they want to say you can’t have bilateral agreement giving advantage to each other. Any advantage given to one country will be accorded immediately to other countries. So how come FTA’s exist. In FTA, they give advantage to one nation or group of nations only.
Answer is Article XXIV of GATT for goods, which gives permission for FTA’s. Read from image given below:
It is important to note that India already has free-trade agreements with ASEAN since 2009, South Korea since 2009, and Japan since 2011. In addition, RCEP includes China, Australia, and New Zealand. What are the results of these FTAs?
The experience since then has been instructive. Between 2014-15 and 2018-19, India’s trade deficit increased from $13 billion to $22 billion with ASEAN, from $9 billion to $12 billion with South Korea, and from $5 billion to $8 billion with Japan. Obviously, these agreements led to a far greater increase in imports than in exports.
Over the same period, India’s trade deficit with China rose from $48 billion to $54 billion, while that with Australia and New Zealand went up from $8 billion to $9 billion. Thus, in 2018-19, India’s trade deficit with its potential RCEP partners alone was $105 billion, which was larger than its total trade deficit of $104 billion with the world as a whole, which included imports of crude oil and petroleum.
What is the trend of Trade deficit, export, imports for last three years in India?
Why India left RCEP?
- Dumping and other predatory trade practices: Membership of the RCEP would compel India to cut import duties on goods like mobile phones and electronics components, products being encouraged to be manufactured at home under the “Make in India” banner. China will start dumping goods. India already has huge trade deficit with China. It will be against the interests of India. Import dependence rather than self-reliance could deepen if India accepted the RCEP in its present form.
- Rural stakeholders
Indian political leaders also faced opposition to the RCEP from other constituencies, in particular, agriculturists and dairy producers, the vast majority of whom are small and medium operators. They fear that joining the RCEP would expose them to large-scale agribusinesses competition from Australia and New Zealand.
Agriculture is the most sensitive area for India whenever it engages in trade talks, be it at the RCEP or at the broader World Trade Organisation (WTO), as it employs more than 50 per cent of India’s workforce who mostly eke out a living at a subsistence level. It will be dangerous to move with RCEP.
- Limited benefits
The fundamental problem India has is the smallness of scale in its goods production and the lack of a competitive export-oriented economy.
Unlike some of the highly industrialized RCEP members, India cannot boast of a competitive manufacturing sector that can go out and capture foreign markets via pacts like the RCEP. This lacuna causes persistent trade deficits and is the key reason why India is defensive and inward-looking in its approach to multilateral trade talks.
And finally, Japan and other RCEP members had hoped to have India in the tent to balance out China’s powerful hand. But domestic economic considerations have weighed heavier than regional and international aspirations in India’s approach to the RCEP.
Is there any scope India can join RCEP?
Still, the door to the RCEP is not completely shut to India. Since the remaining RCEP members are already highly integrated in terms of trade and financial flows, the absence of India with its 1.2 billion consumers, might eventually persuade the other countries to accept India’s terms.
India represents just over 10% of the combined RCEP GDP but nearly 40% of the trade bloc's market size owing to India's second-largest population in the world after China. Without India, RCEP will also come across more as an Asia-Pacific, rather than an Indo-Pacific, trade bloc.
If and when India enters the RCEP, Asia would be better off as a whole. Meanwhile, Modi has much work to do to speed up his goal of industrializing India and making it a manufacturing hub that can capitalise on agreements like the RCEP.
Wait for further updates.
Current Affair 5:
Steel Scrap Recycling Policy
Before going for policy, understand the basics behind the policy. It will help you to easily connect.
Steel is a material most conducive for circular economy as it can be used, reused and recycled infinitely. While iron ore remains the primary source of steel making, used or re-used steel in the form of Scrap is the secondary raw material for the steel industry. Indian steel industry is characterized by the presence of a large number of small steel producers who utilize scrap with other inputs in EAF (Electric Arc Furnaces)/IF (Induction Furnaces) for steel making.
As on March 2019, 47 Electric Arc Furnaces & 1128 Induction Furnaces are operating in the country and largely depend upon scrap as a raw material to produce steel.
Other uses of scrap:
National Steel Policy 2017 (NSP-2017) aims to develop a globally competitive steel industry by creating 300 Million tonne per annum (TPA) Steel production capacity by 2030 with a contribution of 35-40% from EAF/IF route.
Although, scrap is the main raw material for secondary sector, but primary sector also uses Scrap to improve efficiency, minimize cost of production and other process needs.
If it has so many uses, the availability of raw materials at competitive rates is imperative for the growth of the steel industry and to achieve NSP-2017 target. Thus, the availability of right quality of scrap, in adequate quantity is one of the critical factors for the future growth for both EAF/IF sector & primary sector.
What is the status of scrap in India?
The availability of scrap is a major issue in India and in 2017 the deficit was to the tune of 7 million Tons. This was imported at the cost of more than Rs. 24,500 crores (approx.) in 2017-18. The current demand supply scenario of scrap in India as well as anticipated in future is shown.
The demand for policy id further going to increase in India as to realize the target of National Steel Policy and other domestic sector manufacturing. So, this policy has been issued.
The basic objectives of Policy:
Status of Steel Production in India.
No need to know more than this.
Current Affair 6:
Bonded Labour System in India
Recently, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) conducted a seminar on “bonded labour”.
We will learn about Bonded Labour in India
Also known as debt bondage, bonded labor is a specific form of forced labor in which compulsion into servitude is derived from debt. Wait you will understand more clearly through image given below:
Constitutional provisions on forced labour:
- Article 23 of the 1949 Constitution of India outlaws both the trafficking of human beings and forced labor, but the legislation defining and banning bonded labor was only approved by Parliament in 1976.
- Also, under the Constitution of India, Labour is a subject in the Concurrent List where both the Central & State Governments are competent to enact legislation subject to certain matters being reserved for the Centre.
Learn the background of bonded labour. It might help you with Prelims exam and even mains exam.
The issue of 'bonded labour' came to the list of national priority when it was included in the old 20-Point Programme in 1975. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Ordinance was promulgated on 25th October 1975. This was later on replaced by the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). This Act provides for the abolition of the system of bonded labour with simultaneous liquidation of their debts.
Since the subject is included in the Concurrent List, the Union Government stepped in to assist the State Governments in their task of rehabilitation of released bonded labourers. Accordingly, Ministry of Labour & Employment launched a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for rehabilitation of bonded labourers in May 1978.
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers 1978 was last revised in May 2000. It was realized that the scheme was not effective in elimination of Bonded Labour System and a revamp was necessary in the larger public interest. In 2016, a revamp scheme was launched as: Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourer – 2016. Under this scheme financial assistance to the extent of Rs. 3 lakhs provided to released bonded labourers along with other non-cash assistance for their livelihood.
Any ILO ratification on Forced labour?
The Government of India has ratified the ILO Convention C029 on 30tn November 1954 which inter alia defines forced labour as "all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily"
Still, India is seeing many cases of Bonded Labour. It’s a shame. One recent example you can see:
Current Affair 7:
Kalapani Territory
India recently released fresh maps of the newly created Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh and the map of India depicting these UTs.
In this map Kalapani is shown as a part of India and this became bone of contention between India and Nepal.
According to India, the historic Kalapani region forms part of the state of Uttarakhand. The Nepal government is clear that the Kalapani area lies within Nepalese territory.
One more fact: The Kali River in the Kalapani region demarcates the border between India and Nepal, you can see in image.
As per the latest statement given by Indian Government, they are trying to find the truth. So, wait for updates.
Current Affair 8:
' No Money for Terror' Ministerial Conference in Melbourne, Australia
Why this Conference is important?
- India attended this Conference
- India will host this Conference in 2020.
The ''No Money For Terror'' conference is organized by Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) of over 100 countries, jointly called The Egmont Group. This was the second conference of its kind, dedicated to the fight against terror financing. The first such meeting held in Paris in 2018.
This year, India proposed four points for inclusion in the resolution:
- Terrorism is the single biggest threat to peace, security and development.
- Nations must expedite the finalization of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism under the United Nations.
- FATF Standards must be effectively enforced and UN listings / FATF should not be politicized.
- Initiate discussion on Countering Financing of Radicalization (CFR), which would prevent radicalization - an essential prerequisite of terrorism.
We will here also learn about Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
The Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) was proposed by India in 1996. Despite more than two decades, it is yet to be finalized.
The CCIT provides a legal framework which makes it binding on all signatories to deny funds and safe havens to terrorist groups. The original draft that was tabled in 1996 included following major objectives:
- To have a universal definition of terrorism that all 193-members of the UNGA will adopt into their own criminal law
- To ban all terror groups and shut down terror camps
- To prosecute all terrorists under special laws
- To make cross-border terrorism an extraditable offence worldwide.
Current Affair 9:
High Compliance to RTI Act, 2005.
The think tank, Vidhi Centre for Legal policy. developed indexes which evaluates the extent to which the RTI Rules framed by the high court’s make it convenient for citizens to file RTI applications, as a part of its report titled, ‘Sunshine in the Courts: Ranking the High Courts on their compliance with the RTI Act’.
In this report, they have examined the
- legality of the High Court RTI Rules vis-à-vis the RTI Act,
- the convenience offered by High Court RTI Rules,
- the practice of the Public Information Officers (PIOs) in replying to the RTI applications and
- the quality of disclosures made by the High Courts under Section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act.
To capture and compare the variances between the High Courts on these 4 themes, they have developed 4 indices namely the legality index, the convenience index, the practice index and the disclosures index. Just remember these indexes, which they related to. They won’t ask much. So, we also won’t explain much.
Current Affair 10:
RBI panel proposes stricter rules for Core Investment Companies
What is the news:
A working group headed by Tapan Ray formed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended measures to strengthen Core Investment Companies (CIC).
What are Core Investment Companies?
This Concept was originated in order to safeguard NBFCs which are formed for group investments from stringent RBI procedures. Core Investment Companies, (CIC) are those companies which have their assets predominantly as investments in shares for holding stake in group companies but not for trading, and also do not carry on any other financial activity.
As per Core Investment Companies (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2016 issued by RBI, Core Investment Company (CIC) is a non-banking financial company carrying on the business of acquisition of shares and securities and which:
- holds not less than 90 per cent of its net assets in the form of investment in equity shares, preference shares, bonds, debentures, debt or loans in group companies and
- its investments in the equity shares in group companies constitutes not less than 60 per cent of its net assets as on the date of the last audited balance sheet.
CICs were not required to obtain Certificate of Registration (CoR) from Reserve Bank. Practically, it is very difficult to determine what type of share transaction the CIC is engaging with. Considering the many associate issues, the RBI has enacted a revised regulatory framework for CICs from 2010 onwards. The salient features of the framework are as follows:
- Core Investment Companies (CIC) with an asset size of less than Rs100 crore will be exempted from the requirements of registration with RBI. For this purpose, all CICs belonging to a Group will be aggregated.
- CICs with asset size above Rs. 100 crores but not accessing public funds are also exempted from the requirement of registration with RBI.
- Due to systemic implications on account of access to public funds (such as funds raised through Commercial Paper, debentures, inter-corporate deposits and borrowings from banks/FIs), CICs having asset size of 100 crore or above are categorized as Systemically Important Core Investment Companies (CICs-ND-SI) and are required to obtain Certificate of Registration from the Reserve Bank.
What are the recommendations of the Committee?
- The current threshold of Rs 100 crore asset size and access to public funds for registration as CIC should be retained.
- Every group having a CIC should have a Group Risk Management Committee.
- The number of layers of CICs in a group should be restricted to two. As such, any CIC within a group shall not make investments through more than a total of two layers of CICs, including itself.
- CICs need to induct independent directors, conduct internal audits and prepare consolidated financial statements.
- Step-down CIC means the subsidiary company of a company which is a subsidiary of another company.
Wait for updates for the approval of these recommendations. For now, understand Core Investment Companies.
Current Affair 11:
Bengal’s cities yield new species of tree frog
A new species of tree frog generally found in urban areas of west Bengal has been identified. It has been named as Brown Blotched Bengal Tree frog.
Current Affair 12:
Kartarpur Corridor is accessible to the Persons of Indian origin holding the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card.
We will learn two important things here:
- About Kartarpur Corridor
- About Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian origin
Kartarpur Corridor:
- The gurdwara in Kartarpur is located on the bank of river Ravi in Pakistan.
- It is about four km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine, and about 120 km northeast of Lahore
- It was here that Guru Nanak assembled a Sikh community and lived for 18 years until his death in 1539.
- The shrine is visible from the Indian side, as Pakistani authorities generally trim the elephant grass that would otherwise obstruct the view.
- Pilgrimages between India and Pakistan are governed by the 1974 Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, which includes a list of shrines in Pakistan and India open for visitors from the other country, and for which visas are required.
Overseas Citizenship of India
Definition: The Ministry of Home Affairs defines an OCI as a person who:
- Was a citizen of India on or after 26th January 1950; or
- Was eligible to become a citizen of India on 26th January 1950; or
- Is a child or grandchild of such a person, among other eligibility criteria.
According to Section 7A of the OCI card rules, an applicant is not eligible for the OCI card if he, his parents or grandparents have ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh.
The category was introduced by the government in 2005. The Government of India via Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2015 merged the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) category with OCI category in 2015.
Benefits to OCI Cardholders
- OCI cardholders can enter India multiple times, get a multipurpose lifelong visa to visit India, and are exempt from registering with Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
- If an individual is registered as an OCI for a period of five years, he/she is eligible to apply for Indian citizenship.
- At all Indian international airports, OCI cardholders are provided with special immigration counters.
- OCI cardholders can open special bank accounts in India, buy the non-farm property and exercise ownership rights and can also apply for a Permanent Account Number (PAN) card.
Limitations
OCI cardholders do not get voting rights, cannot hold a government job and purchase agricultural or farmland. They cannot travel to restricted areas without government permission.
OCI vs NRI: what’s the difference?
- An NRI, or Non-Resident Indian, is anyone who holds an Indian passport but lives and/or works overseas. NRIs enjoy all the benefits afforded to any citizen living in India. OCIs don’t have many of these rights.
- NRIs have full voting rights for all Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Legislative Assembly/Council elections. OCI holders cannot vote in any elections.
- NRIs can stand for public office. OCI holders cannot.
- NRIs can purchase agricultural land. OCI holders cannot.
- NRIs can conduct research work without any prior permission. OCI holders must get prior permission from the local Foreigners Regional Registration Officers (FRRO).
- NRIs can pay the same rate as other resident Indians when they visit national parks and monuments and can renew their Indian passport at any Indian mission overseas or in India.
Is OCI the same as dual citizenship?
India does not allow dual citizenship. So OCI is the closest it comes to it. OCI is only available to citizens of countries that allow dual citizenship. Once you have had OCI status for five years, you can apply for Indian citizenship. But this would mean you would have to renounce any other citizenship you hold.
Current Affair 13:
Indian air quality interactive repository
The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) along with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched India’s first web repository documenting air quality studies done in the last 60 years.
More details:
- Indian Air quality Interactive Repository (IndAIR) is CSIR-Neeri’s web facility.
- It has archived approximately 700 scanned materials from pre-internet era, 1,215 research articles, 170 reports and case studies, 100 cases and over 2,000 statutes to provide the history of air pollution research and legislation in the country.
- The repository, one of the few such facilities in the world, has the maximum number of studies 262 — concerning Delhi-NCR.
- IndAIR reveals air pollution was recognized as a subject in India even in 1905, when a study was carried out for Bengal Smoking Nuisance Act. The studies by S C Roy of the meteorological office detailed on cloud seeding to deal with famine-ridden areas in 1954.
Current Affair 14:
Shala Darpan Portal
Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development launched the Shala Darpan Portal for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS). It is an end to end e-Governance school automation and management system for NVS.
What is Shala Darpan Portal?
It provides an integrated platform to meet the educational and administrative needs of all stakeholders (students, parents and teachers) and is capable of sending and receiving effective dialogue between every stakeholder. It will integrate all Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas with a common standard which includes around 636 schools and 2.67 million students. This single integrated platform is developed for knowledge dissemination and information sharing for 22,000 employees and more than 2 lakh students across NVS’s schools and offices.
What are Navodaya Vidyalayas?
They are co-educational residential schools established by Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti which is an autonomous organization under Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) to provide quality modern education. The Navodaya Vidyalayas and its teachers plays a crucial contribution in educationally uplifting the rural children.
Current Affair 15:
New Nuclear Plants in Iran
Recently, Iran resumed uranium enrichment at its underground Fordow plant located near Tehran.
Iran began constructing a second nuclear reactor at its Bushehr power plant - a facility being fueled by uranium enriched further than the limits outlined in the faltering 2015 nuclear deal.
