IAS UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 14th December 2019

Archives

(PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS)

Doorstep delivery of public services scheme

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II – Governance

In News

• The doorstep delivery of public services scheme is implemented by the administrative reforms department of the Delhi government.
• The scheme offers 100 government services at the homes of citizens, helping them avoid queues, touts, bribery and multiple visits to government offices.
• Under the scheme, citizens can call on the number — 1076 — to avail government services. After the call, a person will visit the citizen and collect documents required for the service and process the request. Citizens can book an appointment online through www.edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in
• Now there are three ways to get things done at the government offices in Delhi—
  • By visiting government offices, where the success rate is 57% and 43% of the applications get rejected;
  • By applying online, wherein 45% of the applications get cleared while 55% get rejected; and
  • Doorstep delivery, where the success rate is 91% and only 9% of the applications get rejected
• The high success rate in doorstep delivery is due to mobile Sahayaks’s intervention who ensure that all documents are complete and attached in the right order along with the applications.

Fog Pass

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains III –Science & Technology

In News

• The South Central Railway (SCR) has started supplying Fog Pass devices, a GPS-based portable equipment, to loco pilots.
• During the winter, when visibility is low due to fog, loco pilots face a tough challenge of ensuring safe operations of trains. They are forced to restrict the speed of the train as they are unable to sight signals
• The entire data of a particular section such as location of signals, stations, level-crossing gates, warning boards, curves and gradients, are mapped with GPS and fed into the device.
• A fog pass device displays details of at least three oncoming landmarks along with distance from the current location. An audio alert is given, around 500 metres before any approaching landmark
• Fog device helps in alerting the crew about upcoming landmarks or structures, during foggy weather, through audio and visual indications.

Accessible India campaign

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I – Society

In News

• Accessible India campaign aims at making public spaces friendly for persons with disabilities.
• The deadline for the government’s Accessible India campaign has been extended to March 2020 due to “slow progress,” the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has informed the Lok Sabha
• The original deadlines under the Accessible India campaign were July 2016 for conducting an accessibility audit of 25-50 of the most important government buildings in 50 cities and making them completely accessible and March 2018.
• Under the Rights of PwD Act, 2016, all existing and new public buildings have to follow the accessibility standardsnotified on June 15, 2017. The existing buildings were given five years to comply.

National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM)

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III- Disaster Management

In News

• The Ministry of Environment has set up the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) at
• It has been setup to undertake studies and research in the area of Coastal Zone Management including coastal resources and environment.
• The aims and Objectives of the Center are:
  • Strive for being a World Class Knowledge Institution related to coastal zones, environment, resources and processes,
  • To promote integrated and sustainable management of the coastal and marine areas in India for the benefit and wellbeing of the traditional coastal and island communities, and
  • Advice the Union and State Governments and other associated stakeholder(s) on policy, and scientific matters related to Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).
• For the first time, Integrated Island Management plans including holistic island development plans have been prepared by NCSCM for implementation by coastal States/ UTs.

(MAINS FOCUS)

SOCIETY

TOPIC:General Studies 1:

• Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019

Context:

• The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019 (Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2019).
• Disha is the name given to the veterinarian who was raped and murdered in Hyderabad.

Highlights:

• The bill provides for awarding death sentence for offences of rape and gangrape and expediting trials of such cases to within 21 days.
• At present, provision for punishing an offender in a rape case is a fixed jail term leading to life imprisonment or the death sentence.
• Completion of investigation in seven days and trial in 14 working days, where there is adequate conclusive evidence.
• Reducing the total judgment time to 21 days from the existing four months.
• The existing judgment period as per the Nirbhaya Act, 2013 and Criminal Amendment Act, 2018 is 4 months (two months of investigation period and two months of trial period)
• The AP Disha Act also prescribes life imprisonment for other sexual offences against children and includes Section 354 F and 354 G in IPC.
• Two years imprisonment for the first conviction and four years for second and subsequent convictions for cases of social media harassment.
• The Government of Andhra Pradesh prescribes life imprisonment for other sexual offences against children.
• At present,in cases of molestation/sexual assault on children under the POCSO Act, 2012, punishment ranges from a minimum of three years to maximum of seven years of imprisonment.
• Andhra Pradesh government will establish, operate and maintain a register in electronic form, to be called the ‘Women & Children Offenders Registry’.
• This registry will be made public and will be available to law enforcement agencies.

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2017 report:

• A total of 3,59,849 cases were reported against women in 2017.( 2016, 3.38 lakh , 3.2 lakh cases 2015) The number of cases reported has increased.
• Uttar Pradesh has again topped the list with 56,011 cases of crime against women, followed by Maharashtra with 31,979 cases and West Bengal at 30,002.
• Crimes against women constitute murder, rape, dowry death, suicide abetment, acid attack, cruelty against women and kidnapping.
• ‘Cruelty by husband or his relatives’ accounts for 27.9 per cent of the crimes against women.
• ‘Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty’ comprise 21.7 per cent, followed by ‘kidnapping and abduction of women’ with 20.5 per cent and ‘rape’ with 7.0 per cent of reported cases.

Rape data:

• ‘Rape’ stands with 7.0 per cent of reported cases.
• A total of 32,559 rapes were reported in 2017 in India.
• Madhya Pradesh has recorded the highest number of rape cases at 5,562 cases being reported in 2017. Uttar Pradesh is second to MP.
• Delhi, saw a decline in reporting of rape cases, in 2017, 13,076 were reported, which is the lowest in the last three years.
• 1 percent cases the accused were known to the victims.
• Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura can be seen as moderately safer than other states as they recorded the lowest number of cases.

Conclusion:

Make the criminal justice system tougher on an offender committing sexual crimes against women and children.

Connecting the dots:

• Don’t you think acts of sexual violence are deeply traumatic for survivors, and that it takes great courage and faith in the system to report them?

INTERNATIONAL

TOPIC: General Studies 2:

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

Biggest parliamentary majority for Boris Johnson ( BREXIT)

Context:

• Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won the biggest parliamentary majority
• Prime Minister has promised to quickly push through Parliament the Withdrawal Agreement giving consent to his Brexit deal.

What next?

• Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) will be introduced within days
• They will have until the deadline of January 31 to get the Bill through both Houses of Parliament.
• Once Parliament has passed the Bill, the European Parliament will need to ratify the Brexit deal at its end.
• That done, Britain will be out of the EU.
• A British delegation will thereafter begin talks on a trade deal that will define the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
• Separate delegations will begin talks on trade deals with other countries as well, including India

Brexit:

• Brexit – British exit – refers to the UK leaving the EU.
• Brexit is the scheduled withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
• Following a June 2016 referendum, in which 51.9% of participating voters voted to leave, the UK government formally announced the country’s withdrawal in March 2017, starting a two-year process that was due to conclude with the UK withdrawing on 29 March 2019.
• As the UK parliament thrice voted against the negotiated withdrawal agreement, that deadline has been extended twice, and is currently 31 October 2019.
• The ‘Benn Act’ that passed in Parliament requires the government to seek a third extension if no agreement is reached before 19 October.

What is the European Union?

• The EU is an economic and political union involving 28 European countries. It allows free trade and free movement of people to live and work in whichever country they choose.
• The UK joined in 1973 (when it was known as the European Economic Community). If the UK leaves, it would be the first member

What after Brexit?

• EU will start carrying out checks on British goods.
• This could lead to delays at ports, such as Dover. Some fear that this could lead to traffic bottlenecks, disrupting supply routes and damaging the economy.
• If the pound falls sharply in response to no deal and there are significant delays at ports, like Dover, it could affect the price and availability of some foods.
• There are also concerns over potential shortages of medicines.

Positive effects of Brexit in India:

• To reset legal terms: Brexit is an opportunity for India to reset the legal terms of its trade with the UK and EU, at the multilateral level, and through free trade agreements.
• Students friendly: Before Brexit, British universities were forced to offer scholarships and subsidies to the citizens of the UK and EU. Brexit frees up funds for the other students and more Indian students might be able to get scholarships.
• Increases tourism: Reduction in pound value will reduce travelling cost to the UK and will make it a good travel destination.
• Huge investment: Brexit will help strengthen our ties with Britain because India’s focus on innovation and entrepreneurship still makes it an attractive destination for outsourcing and investment.
• Goods and services: According to the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) figures, total trade in goods and services between the UK and India was 18 billion pounds in 2017, a 15 per cent increase from 2016.
• Current account deficit: Lower commodity prices, crude oil prices may help narrowing current account deficit (CAD)
• Trading partners: The UK and the EU are losing trading partners in the process. So they will both be looking for replacements. Here, India can play a crucial role. We may see enhanced cooperation in segments like technology, cyber security, defence production and finance.

Negative effects of Brexit in India:

• Short term effects: Automobile, Pharmacy and IT might be the most affected. NASSCOM has predicted that the effect of Brexit will be felt on the $108 Billion Indian IT sector in the short term.
• Automobile industry: In the automobile industry, Brexit may lead to reduction in sales and companies that derive good revenues of profits from Britain could get hurt majorly.
• Disruptions: Indian companies would need to recalibrate European operations, like setting up an additional operating company within European Union. This means short term disruptions will have a financial impact, as also take up management time.
• Immigration: Because of the large number of immigrants from EU, UK has restricted immigrants from other parts of the world, which had an impact on Indians.
• Restrictions: Post Brexit, immigration into UK of Indians may not become easier as the UK wants to place quantitative restrictions on total number of immigrants, and only a few Indians with special skills may find it easier to work in the UK.

Conclusion

• India should re-negotiate with the UK and EU the World Trade Organization Schedules of Concessions, for both goods and services, should resume its FTA discussions with the EU, and should prepare to launch FTA talks with the UK.

Connecting the dots:

• Do you think UK should come back into the EU after leaving?

(TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE)

Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section)

Note: 

• Correct answers of today’s questions will be provided in next day’s DNA section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers. 

• Comments Up-voted by IASbaba are also the “correct answers”.

Q.1) Consider the following statements about National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) 

1. It has been set up at Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
2. For the first time, Integrated Island Management plans including holistic island development plans have been prepared by NCSCM for implementation by coastal States/ UTs

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.2) Consider the following statements about Accessible India Campaign

1. It is being implemented by Ministry of Labour in collaboration with NITI Aayog
2. It aims at making public spaces friendly for persons with disabilities.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.3) Consider the following statements about Fog Pass

1. It is a GPS based Portable equipment being provided to Loco Pilots
2. It is helps in alerting the crew of train about upcoming landmarks or structures, during foggy weather, through audio and visual indications

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.4) Consider the following statements about Doorstep Delivery of Public Services Scheme of Delhi Government

1. Itis made available to only people who are below poverty line.
2. The high success rate in doorstep delivery is due to mobile Sahayaks’s intervention who ensure that all documents are complete and attached in the right order along with the applications

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWERS FOR 12 DEC 2019 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK)

MUST READ

The day of Boris

The Hindu

Twin troubles

The Hindu

A new Britain

IE

Improving Bankruptcy and Insolvency Code

IE