Civil Services' Surgicals

In The 2012 edition of the World Energy Outlook (by The International Energy Agency) was released on 12 November 2012 and there were a lot of lessons for India in it. Drawing on the latest data and policy developments the report presents analytical insights into trends in energy markets and what they mean for energy security, environmental protection and economic development. It sets out updated projections of energy demand, production, trade, investment and carbon-dioxide emissions, broken down by country. According to the report, taking all new developments and policies in to account, the world is still failing to put the global energy system onto a more sustainable path. Global energy demand grows by more than one-third over the period to 2035. Despite the growth in low-carbon sources of energy, fossil fuels remain dominant in the global energy mix, supported by subsidies. Emissions in the New Policies Scenario correspond to a long-term average global temperature increase of 3...

Economic Freedom is a new measure of where an economy is headed. Based on  work done  by renowned economists – Milton Friedman and Michael Walker – an Economic Freedom of Indian states index was developed to understand where that state was headed.

  A meeting was held by the Prime Minister today to finalise the targets for infrastructure for the year 2012-13. The meeting was attended by the Ministers and Secretaries of key infrastructure Ministries - Power, Railways, Roads, Shipping, Civil Aviation  and Coal.

      Feature - UPA Railways H. C. Kunwar*             In its endeavour to become an excellent rail transport network of the world, the Indian Railways during the year 2011-12 has helped launch itself towards a path of gigantic growth and development, keeping in view the future transportation needs of the economy like construction of 727 kilometres of new line, gauge conversion of 856 kilometres and doubling of 752 kilometres of Railway line besides improving punctuality by six per cent and improving safety by seven per cent.  The year 2011-12 has been significant for the Railways in achieving goals and targets. Revenue Generation              The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during the financial year 2011-12 were Rs. 104278.79 registering an increase of 10.15 p...

                 FEATURE Environment   M. V. S. Prasad * Celebrated annually on 5 June,  World Environment Day  aims at creating worldwide awareness and encourages political attention and action on environmental issues.   World Environment Day thematic celebrations have in the past included caring for the earth and water,  ozone layer, climate change, desertification and sustainable development, etc. World Environment Day was founded by the UN in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Environment Programme and also of World Environment Day (WED), and 20 years since the first UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Earth Summit) in  Brazil . Why Celebrate World Environment Day? When we see or experience the negative effects of climate change and environ...

Board of Approval, Green Manufacturing Committee and High Level Committee Also Notified   NMP Gets Moving with States Identifying Lands  Photo Courtesy : financialexpress.com In a big push to concretize the operational contours of the National Manufacturing Policy (NMP), the Government has established a Manufacturing Industry Promotion Board (MIPB) for matters pertaining to the implementation of the National Manufacturing Policy with the Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Anand Sharma in the Chair. Along with the MIPB the Government has also notified Board of Approval, Green Manufacturing Committee and High Level Committee. The Notifications were signed on 1st June, 2012. 

In order to address the issue of major investment projects being delayed for a variety of reasons, the Prime Minister has approved the setting up of an Investment Tracking System to ensure speedy implementation of such projects. This issue had come up in the last meeting of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry held in December in which the Prime Minister had stated that major projects will be specially tracked to take them forward on a fast track in order to provide a fresh impetus to the economy. This was in the context of delays faced by projects on multiple fronts – security clearances, environmental clearances, other clearances, land related matters, etc. While existing rules and laws have to be followed, it was widely felt that a lot of the delay is avoidable if only there is a will to resolve matters.  2. In pursuance of this, an  Investment Tracking System  has been put in place whereby –

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tabled a White Paper on black money in Lok Sabha, which makes a strong case for setting up Lokpal and Lokayuktas to deal with the menace of Black Money. The minister informed that there was no exact estimation of the black money generated in the country but refuted the reports that Indians held the largest deposits in Swiss banks by providing data. The White Paper suggests 4-pronged strategy to curb generation of black money which includes-

MoU inked b/w the EXIM bank of India and Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank MoU on: · Border area development · Setting up Myanmar Institute of Information Technology · Setting up Advance Centre for Agricultural Research and Education at Yezin Agriculture University. · Establishing Rice Bio Park · Establishing of border haats across the border between the two countries · Cooperation b/w Indian council of world affairs and Myanmar institute of strategic and international Studies. · Kolkata University and Dagon University Yangon to collaborate on higher studies and research. India and Myanmar will also launch bus service from Imphal to Mandalay. Nay Pyi Taw is the new capital of Myanmar, earlier it was Rangoon. Source  : www.gktoday.in

Senior IAS officer S R Rao has been appointed as new Commerce Secretary. Rao, a 1975-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, is Special Secretary in the Department of Telecommunications, at present.   He has replaced Rahul Khullar, who has been appointed new TRAI Chairman.   Saurabh Chandra, Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), was holding the additional charge of Department of Commerce.  

Axis bank, the 3 rd largest private sector lender tied up with Bahrain's Ahli United Bank for inward remittances. What does this tie up would bring in for customers of Ahli United Bank? Any person having an a/c with Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank can transfer money to a bank account holder in India using the Internet banking platform. If the recipient account holder is an Axis customer, the amount will be credited the same day but if the account is in any other bank branch covered under the NEFT network, it can take up to two days. Customers can initiate transactions of up to BHD 5,000 (Rs 732,000 roughly) a day. Source  : www.gktoday.in

Govt constitutes committee to review the functioning of Petroleum Service Companies (PSCs) in the country. Who will head this Committee? The committee will be headed by the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory, Dr. C. Rangarajan Objectives:

(Note : Solutions are subject to review. Please use the comments section below for your inputs and discussions) 1. With reference to National Rural Health Mission, which of the following are the jobs of 'ASHA', a trained community health worker? 1. Accompanying women to the health facility for antenatal care checkup 2. Using pregnancy test kits for early detection of pregnancy 3. Providing information on nutrition and immunization 4. Conducting the delivery of baby Select the correct answer using the codes given below: (a) 1, 2 and 3 Only (b) 2 and 4 Only (c) 1 and 3 Only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 Answer: (A)

Summary of Economic Survey  2011-12 Ø  Indian economy…estimated to grow by 6.9% in 2011-12…due to weakening industrial growth….indicates a slowdown compared not just to the previous two years….when the economy grew by 8.4%/….but also from 2003 to 2011...except 2008-9 economic downturn, when the growth rate was 6.7 percent. Ø   The Economic Survey 2011-12, presented by the Finance Minister, Sh Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha, however predicts 7.6% GDP growth in 2012-13 and 8.6% in 2013-14    Ø   With agriculture and services continuing to perform well, the slowdown can be attributed almost entirely too weakening industrial growth.

( Swapnil Patil & IAS OUR DREAM to be credited for this great work... ) What is FII? FII is nothing but Foreign Institutional Investors. Below entities are called FIIs 1. Pension  Funds 2. Mutual Funds 3. Insurance Companies 4. Investment Trusts 5. Banks 6. University Funds 7. Endowments 8. Foundations 9. Charitable Trusts 10.  Asset  Management  Companies 11. Institutional  Portfolio  Managers 12. Trustees 13. Power of Attorney Holders Advantages Enhanced flows of equity capital FIIs have a greater appetite for equity than debt in their asset structure. The opening up the economy to FIIs has been in line with the accepted preference for non-debt creating foreign inflows over foreign debt. Enhanced flow of equity capital helps improve capital structures and contributes towards building the investment gap. Managing uncertainty and controlling risks. FII inflows help in financial innovation and development of hedgin...