Current Events Section
1)‘Women of India’ Exhibition’:-
- The Union Minister of Women and Child Development inaugurated the first of its kind Women of India Exhibition with the theme ‘Women and organic Products’ at ‘Dilli Haat, in New Delhi .
- The ‘Women of India Exhibition’ is a special initiative of WCD Ministry for women’s empowerment under which it invites the women, meets their travel and local accommodation costs, but allows them to keep all the proceeds recovered from the sale of organic produce.
- For the first time in India, over 500 women artisans /entrepreneurs across the country have come together with their organic products, such as tribal and ethnic foods, pickles and preserves, rice, pulses, spices, vegetables and fruits, fabrics, dyes and dresses, cosmetics and household products, in the exhibition.
- Another unique feature of the exhibition will be ‘Forgotten Foods’ like millets such as jhongora, ragi, kuttu, bajra, amaranth, etc which were earlier regarded as healthy foods eaten by all but have lost their popularity over time.
- The main aim of the Exhibition is to support and encourage women and women-led groups which promote organic farming thus supporting local community’s economy, creating jobs and keeping farmers thriving in addition to spreading awareness about the benefits of organic products with the motto “Eat Healthy Live Healthy”.
- Forgotten Foods :- These foods are of immense importance in people’s live and they were nutrient diverse.However with the green revolution and emphasis on few specific crops , compounded with the incentive of Minimum Support Price , many staple foods have lost relevance today, which is worrisome. This is one of the criticism how a policy skewed in favor of certain elements may harm the necessary vital elements.
2) ‘Taxpayers’ Lounge’ at the India International Trade Fair – 2015
- The Income Tax Department will be setting-up a ‘Taxpayers’ Lounge’ at the India International Trade Fair (IITF) – 2015 in New Delhi.
- The theme of the Taxpayers’ Lounge this year would follow the theme of IITF 2015 i.e. ‘Make in India’ and aims to generate awareness in the public about the various taxpayer-friendly initiatives taken by the Department. Besides it, various tax payers services would also be provided at the Taxpayers’ Lounge for the benefit of people at large including e-filing of returns, viewing of tax credit through 26AS, applications for PAN and services of Tax Return Prepares among others
- The Lounge will also highlight the contribution of taxes and the Income Tax Department to nation building. Activities such as Nukkad Natak, Drawing Competition and Quiz Contest will be carried-out to engage with school children and youth, who are potential taxpayers of the future.
3)Indra-2015:-
- The 14 days India Russia military exercise is progressing at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges, in Rajasthan
Static Section
4) Dr Kalam and his Legacy :-
*Note:- The life of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is an embodiment of ethical values , inspiration and positivism. Hence we are providing a short article on his sayings that can be used while writing Ethics (GS IV) paper answers or Essay .It is always good to write answers linking it to the current context, if one can , as it makes the examiner easy to comprehend and relate to it.
- “Don’t read success stories, you will only get a message. Read failure stories, you will get some ideas to get success”.(This particular quote is specifically holds true for Civil Service Aspirants)
- Geopolitics and Pursuit of power – “Unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. In this world, fear has no place only strengths respects strength.”
- Motivational – “Difficulties in your life do not come to destroy you, but to help you realize your hidden potential and power, let difficulties know that you too are difficult.”
- Secularism – “For great men, religion is a way of making friends; small people make religion a fighting tool.”
- Attitude :- All Birds find shelter during a rain. But Eagle avoids rain by flying above the Clouds.Problems are common, but attitude
makes the difference!!!
- Virtue :- Courage is the most important of all virtues because without courage you cannot practice any other virtue consistently.
- Feminism :- If Women can succeed only by emulating men, I think it is a great loss .The aim is not only for women to succeed but also to keep feminine essence and let that influence society.
- Leisure :- Sometimes, it’s better to bunk a class and enjoy with friends, because now, when I look back, marks never make me laugh, but memories do.
- Goodness and Greatness :- See the flower, how generously it distributes perfume and honey. When it’s work is done, it falls away quietly. Try to be like the flower, unassuming despite all it’s qualities.
- Indian History:- Indians have been both afflicted and enriched by centuries of migrations. Loyalty to different rulers has dulled our capacity for a single allegiance. Instead, we have developed an extraordinary ability to be compassionate and cruel, sensitive and callous, deep and fickle, all at the same time. To the untrained eye, we may appear colourful and picturesque; to the critical eye, we are but shoddy imitations of our various masters.
- Inter-connection :- The sweetness we taste in a piece of sugar is neither a property of the sugar nor a property of ourselves. We are producing the experience of sweetness in the process of interacting with the sugar
- Sensitivity :- Praise publicly, but criticize privately
- Dedication:- Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness
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Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.
Globally, around 80% of wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, according to the United Nations.
This can pose a significant environmental and health threat.
In the absence of cost-effective, sustainable, disruptive water management solutions, about 70% of sewage is discharged untreated into India’s water bodies.
A staggering 21% of diseases are caused by contaminated water in India, according to the World Bank, and one in five children die before their fifth birthday because of poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, according to Startup India.
As we confront these public health challenges emerging out of environmental concerns, expanding the scope of public health/environmental engineering science becomes pivotal.
For India to achieve its sustainable development goals of clean water and sanitation and to address the growing demands for water consumption and preservation of both surface water bodies and groundwater resources, it is essential to find and implement innovative ways of treating wastewater.
It is in this context why the specialised cadre of public health engineers, also known as sanitation engineers or environmental engineers, is best suited to provide the growing urban and rural water supply and to manage solid waste and wastewater.
Traditionally, engineering and public health have been understood as different fields.
Currently in India, civil engineering incorporates a course or two on environmental engineering for students to learn about wastewater management as a part of their pre-service and in-service training.
Most often, civil engineers do not have adequate skills to address public health problems. And public health professionals do not have adequate engineering skills.
India aims to supply 55 litres of water per person per day by 2024 under its Jal Jeevan Mission to install functional household tap connections.
The goal of reaching every rural household with functional tap water can be achieved in a sustainable and resilient manner only if the cadre of public health engineers is expanded and strengthened.
In India, public health engineering is executed by the Public Works Department or by health officials.
This differs from international trends. To manage a wastewater treatment plant in Europe, for example, a candidate must specialise in wastewater engineering.
Furthermore, public health engineering should be developed as an interdisciplinary field. Engineers can significantly contribute to public health in defining what is possible, identifying limitations, and shaping workable solutions with a problem-solving approach.
Similarly, public health professionals can contribute to engineering through well-researched understanding of health issues, measured risks and how course correction can be initiated.
Once both meet, a public health engineer can identify a health risk, work on developing concrete solutions such as new health and safety practices or specialised equipment, in order to correct the safety concern..
There is no doubt that the majority of diseases are water-related, transmitted through consumption of contaminated water, vectors breeding in stagnated water, or lack of adequate quantity of good quality water for proper personal hygiene.
Diseases cannot be contained unless we provide good quality and adequate quantity of water. Most of the world’s diseases can be prevented by considering this.
Training our young minds towards creating sustainable water management systems would be the first step.
Currently, institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) are considering initiating public health engineering as a separate discipline.
To leverage this opportunity even further, India needs to scale up in the same direction.