Current Affairs for CSE - Part II

Let us discuss about Health, Education and other Social issues/reforms here.

Health

1. Vector Borne Diseases in India

The National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme (NVBDCP) includes Malaria, Filariasis, Chikungunya, Dengue, Japanese Encephalitis and Kala - Azar. Further there have been threats from other pathogens like the Zika Virus. Incidentally Zika virus is spread by the same Aedes mosquito spreading Chikungunya and Dengue. 

2. National Health Policy 2015

It includes provisions like universalisation of health care, increasing the public spending on health to 2.5% of the GDP, making Right to Health a fundamental right.

3. School Health Programme and Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram

Under this, children in the age group 0-18 years would be screened for different illnesses and they will be given free treatment including surgery in Government hospitals under the National Rural Health Mission.

4. National Mental Health Policy

Objective to provide universal access to mental health care by enhancing understanding of mental health and strengthening leadership in mental health sector at all levels.

5. India New Born Action Plan

To attain Single Digit Neonatal Mortality and Stillbirth Rates by 2030. It is to be implemented within the existing Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent health (RMNCH+A) framework of the National Health Mission (NHM).

6. National Family Health Survey

      The results of the first phase of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) was released. Child mortality rate, Infant mortality rate and the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has reduced. The other outcomes are improved immunisation coverage and better sanitation and drinking water facilities. There is some improvement in child nutrition, but over one in three children is still stunted, and over one in five underweight.   

7. Health Protection Scheme
Health insurance cover of up to Rs.1 lakh per family and 1.3 lakh for senior citizens. A similar project called Rashtriya Swasthya Bhima Yojana (RSBY) has been running since 2008 under Ministry of Labour which has been now transferred to Ministry of Health and Family welfare. It has a health cover of Rs 30000 per family.

8. Accessibility and affordability of drugs

The Drug Pricing Control Order was passed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority. It covered different drug combination whose price is to be controlled. The Government has decided to open about 3000 Jan Aushadhi stores in India. These would supply drugs at reasonable prices.

9. Food safety and standards

Detection of chemicals like Lead and Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG) in Maggi, Potassium Bromate in bread etc. has raised concerns about food safety in India. The monitoring body is Food Safety and Standards Authority of India constituted in 2006. 

10. Surrogacy in India

The Government is in the process of forming a clear legislation regarding surrogacy through the Assisted Reproductive Techniques Bill.  The main aim is to protect the surrogate mothers from exploitation.  In a recent affidavit to the Supreme Court, the Government has expressed its support for surrogacy only for Indian couples and is against commercial surrogacy.

11. Pre-natal diagnostic techniques

The pre-natal diagnosis has been prohibited under the PCPNDT Act. But recently there was a suggestion to allow pre-natal diagnosis and then ensure the protection of the female child through public interventions.  

12. Tobacco menace in India

India is home to world’s second largest number of tobacco users (around 275 million) according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey. The Government has launched a mobile app “Mobile (m) Cessation” that would counsel the tobacco users to quit the habit. Meanwhile the health ministry has issued a notification to carry warnings that would cover 85% of the surface of the packet.

13.  Ranjit Roy Choudhary Report on restructuring the medical sector

A comprehensive report covering the qualitative and quantitative aspects of medical education. Increasing the doctor patient ratio to 1:1000, increasing the number of medical PG seats in proportion with the UG seats, revamping the MCI are some of its suggestions. The Supreme Court has appointed a committee to give suggestions to revamp Medical Council of India.

Education

1. Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan

 It aims to connect institutions of higher education, including Indian Institutes of  Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs) etc. with local communities to address the development challenges through appropriate technologies.

2.   National Education Policy 2015 

IT is based on the T S R Subramanian Committee Report. The policy include providing scholarships for meritorious students from poor families, granting autonomy to universities according to their rating and a separate ‘Indian Education Service’

3.  National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)

For ranking around 3500 Universities across India. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore came top in overall ranking. Among technical institutions, IIT Madras topped the list while among business schools, IIM Bangalore snatched the top slot.

4. Swayam – India’s official MOOC platform

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are to be given by different universities/institutions. Around 2.5 lakh hours of e-content is to be brought into this platform covering subjects from the school level to advanced research.

5. IMPRINT – IMPacting Reasearch Innovation and Technology

A Pan-IIT and IISc joint initiative to develop a roadmap for research to solve major engineering and technology challenges in ten technology domains relevant to India.

6. GIAN – Global Initiative for Academic Networks

To bring high quality academicians to participate in delivering courses in Indian institution.

7.  Atal Innovation Mission

It spurs innovation in young minds by providing funds for a network of institutions to conduct research on innovation. It comes under the NITI Aayog and replaces the earlier National Innovation Council.  

Other social schemes

1. Insurance schemes of the Government

• Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana - It is for accidental death insurance cover. It is applicable in the age group 18-70 years. The annual premium is Rs 12 and the total coverage is Rs. 2 lakh.
• Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyothi Bima Yojana - It is a life insurance scheme. It is applicable in the age group 18-50 years. The annual premium is Rs 330 and the total coverage is Rs. 2 lakh.

2. Atal Pension Yojana 
It is a Government backed pension scheme targeting the unorganised sector. People who join the National Pension System (NPS) and who are not members of any statutory social security scheme would be benefited.

3. Minimum Wages Act Amendment

      Changes are sought for the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. States are to be divided into 3 classes for common minimum wage. There would be a further division of workers into unskilled, under skilled, skilled, high skilled. The Centre sets the base wages while the States can decide the minimum wages according to the Consumer Price Index. 

      4. National Policy on Social Security to be launched

      A separate National Social Security Authority to be formed to formulate a policy. It would develop a Social Security Code for the entire population dividing it into four tiers. The first tier would consist of the destitute and the BPL sections while the second tier would consist of the un-organised sector. The third tier comprises of the workers who can contribute to schemes with the help of the employer while the fourth tier would consist of the affluent sections.

      5. Rehabilitation package for bonded labourers

      Bonded labour has been prohibited in India under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. According to the recent rehabilitation package, 3 lakhs is provided for disabled and transgender, 2 lakhs for women and children and 1 lakh for adult men under an amendment to the said act.

      6. Amendment to Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

      Expectant mothers to get 6.5 months paid leave compared to 3 months now. Women who adopt a child up to 3 months of age, or a commissioning mother would be entitled for 16 weeks paid leave from the date of handling over the child. Offices with more than 50 employees have to compulsorily provide crèches.

      7. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana 

      Free cooking gas connections to BPL and tribal families. This is a consequence of the “Give it up” and the “Pahal Scheme” which freed a good number of gas connections.  

      8. Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan

      It is a nationwide campaign to ensure universal accessibility to persons with disabilities. Targets include making important railway stations and 10% of the public transport carriers accessible to the disabled.  

      9. Nai Manzil

      A World Bank supported scheme designed as an integrated education and training programme for youth from minority communities.

      10. E-governance platforms

•       PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely-Implementation) is an interactive platform to   address common man’s grievances. It combines digital data management, video-conferencing and geo-spatial technology.
•       UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New Age Governance) is a smart phone application that provides about 200 central and state services.

       Next : Transport and Power

Current Affairs for CSE - Part I

"Current Affairs" form a vital component of the Civil Services Examination. "Current events of national and international importance" is specifically stated in the syllabus for the Prelims. It is a part and parcel of the General Studies papers in the Mains though not explicitly stated. Almost all the questions in GS-II and GS-III are based on current aspects. Hence it is very important that the candidate develops a clear idea about the current issues to perform well in the examination.

You would find a lot of sources on "Current Affairs" in both printed and electronic form. Going through all these sources would definitely lead to an "information overload". The candidate would end up in mugging up some facts that are irrelevant for the examination. Hence the biggest challenge here is in identifying the relevant facts and cleverly ignoring the rest. This is the real "smart work" required while studying the "Current Affairs".

I have tried to make "Current Affairs" look simpler in this post. Instead of putting information in the chronological order of their occurrence, I have tried to group together different facts under a common head. I hope this would give a clear idea to the candidates about the different aspects of a given topic. Also, instead of elaborating a point, I have just given the title and a brief explanation for the same. The aspirants are required to study further on each title. The purpose is to orient the aspirants about the relevant issues on a given subject.

The total content has been classified into four sections (with important sub-sections) as follows:
1. Rights issues and legal issues
2. Social issues
     - Health & Education
     - Social programmes and policies
3. Economic and financial reforms/issues 
     - Transport
     - Power
     - Urban and rural development
     - Agriculture and other primary sectors
     - Secondary  and tertiary sectors
     - Fiscal reforms
     - Banking and monetary reforms 
     - Other economic issues

4. Science & Technology and Environment

5. International affairs.

     - India and the world

     - Other issues

We will follow the above order of topics and have a detailed study of each of them. Learning in this manner would give the candidate a holistic idea about a topic which is very important for both the Prelims and the Mains. We wouldn't miss out on any important point in this method. Further it provides sufficient scope for updation and thus expansion of your knowledge. Hope this would be helpful for the aspirants. Happy learning..!!! 

Now let us get on to the first topic  i.e. Rights issues and-legal issues. Please note again that I will be giving only a brief idea about each point and you have to further work on those.

Rights issues and-legal issues

Right-based issues

1. Consumer Protection Bill amendments 
The Consumer Protection Act has been extended to e-commerce sectors also. It aims to establish the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), an executive agency which will protect and enforce the rights of consumers. 

2. Temple entry movements by women 
Stressing upon the fundamental rights of equality and religious freedom, there have been movements by women in temples like Shani Shingnapur. The Supreme Court has ordered in favour of providing entry to women in Sabarimala.

3. Status of women in India - Pam Rajput Committee
A High level Committee headed by Pam Rajput has submitted its report to the Government. The important recommendations include passage of the Women reservation bill, studying the status of Muslim women, gender sensitive enforcement machinery, amendments to IPC Section 377 on un-natural sex, marital rape etc.

4. Acid attack
Acid attack has been made a separate offence under the CrPC with a punishment of 10 year imprisonment. The majority of the victims are women. There have been restrictions on the sale and distribution of acids based on "The Poisons Possession and Sales Rules, 2013". The Supreme Court has directed the State Government/UT to pay Rs 3 lakh as compensation to victims.

5. Transgender rights or LGBT rights
Supreme Court has directed to include transgenders in the backward sections and provide them with reservation in public employment. Further it has agreed for a relook by a Constitutional bench into Section 377 of IPC regarding unnatural sex. There is a Rights of Transgender Persons Bill in the Parliament that seeks to provide reservation and setting up National and State Commissions for transgender communities

6. Virginius Xaxa committee on tribal issues 
According to it 40 per cent of all people displaced in India due to development activity have been tribes. Important recommendations include appointment of a judicial commission to investigate cases filed against tribes and their supporters, investigate the quality of Rehabilitation and Resettlement in all development projects, revisiting the PESA Act etc.

7. Centre notifies amended rules to SC/ST Act.
It envisages speedier trials, increased quantum of relief, regular review if schemes, filing charge sheet within 60 days, special sensitivity in cases against women etc.

8. Child Labour Prevention and Regulation Bill 
It aims the prevention children below 14 years in being employed in any jobs. Currently according to Article 24 of the Constitution, children below 14 years should not be employed in hazardous jobs. According to the latest discussion exception is given in case of family enterprises and entertainment industry, provided the activity is outside their schooling hours.

9. Amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act 
Persons in the age group 16-18 years tried through normal courts for heinous crimes. The Child Welfare Committees get statutory recognition. Details regarding adoption and Central Adoption Resources Authority (CARA) have been outlined.

10. Discrimination of North East - Bez Baruah Committee

      It has recommended a set of short-term and long-term measures to counter discrimination against the North Eastern community. Those include a new law against discrimination, faster investigation and trial, awareness campaigns, a North East Centre in Delhi etc.

11. Euthanasia or mercy killing
This aspect has been in news specifically because of the case of Aruna Shaunbaug, a nurse who was brutally raped and lived in a vegetative state for 38 years before her death at a Mumbai hospital. 
Euthanasia is of two types - passive and active. While in the former the patient dies when the life-support is withdrawn, in the latter case lethal drugs are injected leading to the death of the patient. In India, Euthanasia of both kinds are not permitted. There have been discussions on legalising passive Euthanasia.

12. DNA profiling bill
This envisages the creation of a database of DNA finger- prints of persons in conflict with law. The fingerprints are constructed from DNA fragments otherwise known as Short Tandem Repeats (STR) that is unique for a person. But there are apprehensions that this may lead to violation of privacy of individuals.

13. Privacy issue with AADHAAR
The Aadhaar platform got statutory recognition after the passage of the related bill in the Parliament. But there are counter-arguments that this would lead to violation of privacy that is an inferred right under Right to Life and Personal Liberty (Article 21). But the Government has contended that the said right is only conditional and not absolute.

14. Criminal defamation and sedition laws in India
Defamation and sedition laws in India are in conflict with the right to freedom of expression. Section 124A of IPC is regarding sedition while sections 499 and 500 deal with criminal defamation. The Supreme Court in a recent verdict has upheld these citing that freedom of expression is not absolute. 

Legal issues

15. National Judicial Appointments Commission

The Supreme Court has rejected the formation of the NJAC on the grounds that it affects the independence of judiciary which is a basic structure of the Constitution. It has agreed to improve upon the current system of Collegium for the appointment and transfer of Supreme Court and High Court judges.

16. National Court of Appeal

Supreme Court has requested the Government to consider the possibility of establishing National Court of Appeal. It would act as final court of justice in dealing with appeals from the decisions of the High Courts and tribunals within their region in civil, criminal, labour and revenue matters. In such a scenario, a much-relieved Supreme Court of India situated in Delhi would only hear matters of constitutional law and public law.

17. Death penalty in India

Currently it is applied in India for the “rarest of rare” offences. Organisations like the Amnesty International have been campaigning for the withdrawal of such provisions from the Indian criminal jurisprudence.

18. Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)

The Home Ministry has been blocking many international NGOs from receiving funds from abroad. There have been strict FCRA guidelines to track the fund flows from outside India. Many NGOs and international institutions like the Green Peace and the Ford Foundation had to face the measures of the Government.

19. State Emergency in Uttarakhand
This year witnessed the application of State Emergencies in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand under Article 356 of the Constitution. But Uttarakhand issue is important considering how the things unfolded. Despite the declaration of State Emergency the Supreme Court allowed for the Vote of Confidence in the House, without the nine rebel MLAs who were disqualified by the Speaker. The role of Union Government in declaring Emergency and the role of the Speaker in declaring the Appropriation Bill as passed by a voice vote and then disqualifying the rebel Congress MLAs were highly controversial.

20. Passage of AADHAAR Bill.
The Aadhaar bill was classified as a money bill by the Speaker and then passed in the Lok Sabha. It was seen as a step to by-pass the Rajya Sabha since it has minimal jurisdiction regarding a money bill. A money bill should contain provisions only under Art 110(1) of the Constitution. Though Aadhaar envisages transfer of funds from the Consolidated Fund of India, there is a provision within the bill that it may be used for other purposes too. This raised a concern whether it is a money bill. The Speakers role has been controversial here.

21. Rajya Sabha elections
The Rajya Sabha elections witnessed cross-voting by MLAs in the states of Haryana, Karnataka and Chattisgarh against the party whips. The points to be noted are the process of Rajya Sabha elections and the application of the Anti-Defection Law against the MLAs who did not obey the party diktats.

22. Criminalisation of pornography
The Government had recently blocked around 850 porn sites. Though it initially claimed for complete ban on pornography, later it clarified its stand to ban child pornography. The Section 67 of IT Act prohibits publishing and transiting of obscene material. Section 292 of the IPC considers the distribution of obscene material as a crime. The POCSO Act prohibits using children in pornographic acts. Hence child pornography is a crime. Adult pornography is a crime under the IT Act, if the content is uploaded in India. If it is uploaded from some foreign server then watching the same in privacy does not amount to an offence in India. 

Next topic : Health and Education