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General Discussion
[CSAT] Current Affairs Marathon (2012-13)
Mrunal December 2012
Objective of This thread
1. Coordinated preparation of Prelims-mains-interview related current affairs for UPSC.
2. You either write on some topic or just mention the topic you consider important (so that
others can prepare it at home or contribute something here).
Page 1 of 15 [CSAT] Current Affairs Marathon (2012-13) - Mrunal
17-Mar-13 http://forum.mrunal.org/discussion/3/csat-current-affairs-marathon-2012-13
Rules
1. Try to write the gist/summary in your own words. Don't merely copy paste entire articles
from other sites.
2. Small talk=not allowed. (e.g. thank you, hi, hello, morning, good night).
3. Please donot dilute the flow of discussion with the (usual) cut-off, result date, removal of
optional etc.
4. Formal English only (please avoid sms lingo cz its 2hrd 2rd).
5. Personal attacks, disrespect to any member directly or indirectly=not allowed.
Anyways, without much ado, let's start. Here are the topics on which Ive not written articles,
but I consider them important. (list not exhastive, but Im giving this to kickstart discussions.)
Polity
1. Sangma's plea against Pranab's presidential election. (office of profit)
2. PM's statement about right to information vs right to privacy. (essay)
3. ILP (inner line permit) issue in Manipur.
4. difference between US and Indian polity (Presidential election, implications on India).
Science/Public Health
1. Agent Orange: it's already explained in NCERT. But it's in news, because USA plans to
clean up its mess in Vietnam (remaining stockpile +med-treatment to victims).
2. Government guidelines on injecting insulin. (interview profile Qs for Med/Pharma)
3. Ireland abortion controversy. (Indian lady doctor died)
4. Environment ministry had banned Bt-Brinjal in 2012, now Sharad Pawar says Bt-
research should continue.
Economy
1. Sugar decontrol and Rangarajan commitee report
2. Fuel supply agreements (FSA).
3. Exchange traded Funds
4. SEBI's initiative to protect investors, e-IPO.
IR/Diplomacy
1. WCIT Dubai
2. Palestine UN observer state
3. India's 2+2 dialogue with Japan.
4. Obama's visit to Myanmar.
Economy
1. National offset policy
2. Banking regulation bill
ParthoDecember 2012
Polity
1. 117th Amendment bill. Debate.
2. Question hour (Hamid Ansari - Not happy). How effective is it? What can be done
to improve its efficacy?
manishmeenaDecember 2012
IR/Diplomacy
What do u mean by RCEP, with context to ASEAN-INDIA relation?
J agdeep_iitDDecember 2012
Relevance of Lord Leveson's judgement to India??
ashokieDecember 2012
@jagdeep : this question is very much explained Mr. katju in their hindu article .
Nair December 2012
guyss!! Is there possiblities of Anti-Govt questions like Kejriwal's aam aadmi,scams,Delhi gang
rape(upheavel) etc??
LavakushDecember 2012
Is it not openly speaking about sex through generation gap between boy and a father is the
reason why rape committed more these days or we are lacking social dignity towards gender.?
LavakushDecember 2012
is their any better solution for these hounding social problem???
starvenky143December 2012
here is an idea ....why do we contribute one article for week and share .so that we can be perfect
in every topic..
with mrunal sir support and permission ...i feel we can..
PROCESS:
prepare(U/ME) --GET CORRECTED BY MRUNAL SIR --after checked by sir ---post to
website.
if this is not sensing sound..please excuse me..
i think it is very very useful provided we contribute one article per week/fortnight..
tushar December 2012
eIPO by sebi would encourage investors to tap capital market...But sir what is "safety net"
Flint December 2012
Here are the few topics which I would request Mrunal Sir to take up keeping in view their
importance:
1. Present political logjam in Nepal.
2. History of insurgency in Afghanistan and its probable fate after US troops withdrawal.
3. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act-1967 Amendment Bill and the related hue and cry.
4. SC, ST Promotion Quota bill. Its history, recent amendments and their consequences.
5. [Culture] Europe's largest minority group- The Romanis (they migrated from north India).
6. Companies Bill 2012.
Thank you.
skthakur December 2012
I n vi ew of r ecent mass pr ot est over t he gang r ape of a 23 year gi r l i n movi ng
bus i n nat i onal capi t al , f ol l owi ng poi nt s can be consi der ed i mpor t ant . . .
pl ease gi ve your val uabl e i nput s
Women empower ment and t her e saf et y .
Var i ous commi t t ee and r epor t s on sexual and domest i c assaul t on women.
I mpedi ng bi l l i n par l i ament over i t .
Gender Sensi t i vi t y r equi r ed i n women r el at ed cases of assul t and voi l ence.
and t r ai ni ng as par t of pol i ce r ef or ms.
Hi gh GI I of i ndi a, hi gher t han wor l d aver age as wel l as hi gher t o i t s
nei ghbour i ng count r i es l i ke paki st an, chi na, sr i l anka , bhut an, bangl adesh.
comment
ot her s:
I ndo- Russi an def ence deal s and ot her par t ner shi p.
deep43417December 2012
I think we have missed environmental issues and biodiversity topic.
- Recent extinction list of the indian animals.
-Endemic species of india
-NIB
Some other topics like
Sanitation mission - BAAPU and NIRMAL
Social schemes of India.
me4iasDecember 2012
lab to land initiative
DINESHDecember 2012
Doha ,COP 18 -climate change.
nayanDecember 2012
G4,G8,G20,G5,... etc etc except (sonia G)...lets discuss all G group of nations and their
agenda...
btkarthikDecember 2012
Neutrino Research is pretty important I feel.
J AAN December 2012
Who ever f i nds a USE FULL w ebsi t e(l i k e mr unal .or g) c an shar e i n t hi s
f or um. You c an al so pr ovi de any use f ul l ar t i c l e' s l i nk t oo...
Thank you guyzzz.
Yearbook
1. HRD min setting up new Accrediation agency under AICTE because Nation board of
Accrediation has work overload.
2. AICTE approves engineering courses in distant education mode from 2013
Economy
1. Business Lobbying India vs US
2. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Bill proposal for 2% or more profit to be used for
CSR
3. CACP: The food security bill will negatively affect Farmer sector.
International
1. Duma Bill=this prohibit Americans from adopting Russian Babies. (recall that
previously Russia had made law against Foreign NGOs).
mayankDecember 2012
hi everyone...
can we start discussion on important disease regularly in the news like TB,Dengu,J E etc...
Nair December 2012
Mayans,Indus valley civilisation & Hinduism
Mayan calender was haunting the world till dec 21. So no wonder if we get question from that. most
astonishing fact is Mayan calender began around 3112 B.C Hindu's kali calender began arnd 3102 B.C and
both numbers coincides more or less with IVC.
Mayans calender based on Venus , IVC used Jovian calender(based on Jupiter)
Interestingly the great Epic Mahabharatha also centred over these periods.In Mahabharatha
Arjuna had a friend named MAYA who is an expert in Architecture.
Maya is depicted as Asura in mahabharatha. Asuras are dictated by Venus.
Also Devas => the brighter one gets sunshine, Asuras => out of sun's Influence i.e. they are
belived to live in pathalam(underground). Interestingly Mayans lived somewhere near present
day Mexico and S.American region which is the Anti-podal region of India. This fact has been
clearly and Explicitly found in Varaha Mihira's work.
Swastik symbol, Ankor wat temple - combodia,Kumbhamela,Onam festivel etc also have
Evident ties with Mayan civilisation.
ShivaramDecember 2012
Japan India 2+2 dialogue
India and J apan hold secretary level talks which includes the Foreign and Defence Secretaries
from both countries will talk about different issues.
Why?
Run upto the upcoming Manmohan's trip to Japan. First the secretaries talk and then the
finalizing is done later.
When?
First held in 2010. Now in October 2012 again.
Palestine UN non-member observer state
The UN has recently voted to include Palestine as its non member state.
Implications
Palestine can start criminal proceedings for war crimes in International Court of Criminal
J ustice against Israel.
Response
The US responded that if Palestine files any case then it will cut all aid to the already sick state.
(Info: The Palestine population in Gaza strip is living off International aid as there is no
economy and trade).
Fuel Supply Agreements (FSA):
This is the agreements made between Coal India Ltd with power generators like
NTPC,Adani,etc. This agreement provides that Coal India will supply coal to these companies
at a particular limit(trigger limit),failing which CIL will pay penalty. Earlier there was a trigger
limit of 90% but then it changed to 80% to plants setup after 2009.
Controversies:
1. There have been controversies over the new FSAs which give a low penalty to the CIL if it
fails to deliver the required coal. The current penalty is 0.01% of the shortfall.
2. Also the share of imported coal and quality of the coal provided is debated. Imported
coal->costly->power companies do not want.
Some other news:
There is also price pooling issue which has been contemplated by CIL. Under this, CIL will
balance the cost of imported and exported coal among the plants situated near the port and off
the port.
Near the port->easier access to imported coal.
Far from the port->tough access->higher cost.
IASisEASY December 2012
@Shivaram .. Very very thankful to you for providing information :) ..
Nik December 2012
Sangma's plea against Pranab's Presidential election
The Beginning
Sangma
contended that Mukherjee was holding office of profit as Chairman of Indian
Statistical Institute while contesting and also as the leader of the Congress party Later on
opposition BJ P alleged of fabricated resignation letter
In History
Presidential elections have been challenged before as well Prominent on where detailed hearing
took place was of plea against election of V.V Giri as President in 1969
Supreme Courts decision
SC has dismissed Sangmas plea since SC says the recoded material show that Mr.
Mukherjee was not holding any office of profit at the time of nomination
The bench was led by CJ I Altmas Kabir
It was a 3-to-2 verdict (i.e. a split verdict =3 favoured and 2 disagreed)
The majority verdict did not find monetary benefits in respect of the post of ISI chairman
J udges who disagreed said Sangma deserved a full hearing to prove ISI chairmans post as
office of profit
The Advocates
Ram J ethmalani for Sangma and Harish Salve for Mukherjee
deep43417December 2012
@Mrunal
I would be happy if you please share some articles on Ancient and Medieval history.
MALIK December 2012
DIPLOMACY
HOW CAN INDIA REDUCE ITS TRADE DEFICIT WITH CHINA?
PLZ GIVE SOME MEASURES
MALIK December 2012
DIPLOMACY
1) By substituting import of chinies goods with ASEAN ,and india can demand FTA in Service
in return with ASEAN.
it also, there by, reducing overdependence on china, for fertilizer -chemical and electronics . so
that ensuring food & trade security in times of conflict
2) india export mainly primary goods(iron ore, coper.cotton, etc) to china which add less value
(BOP) and exploit our natural resources more ,so, we must try to export value added goods
more.
3) china import mainly to meet its domestic demand,and less to feed its export industry, so, we
must tapped pharma and IT mkt with demanding spl trade agreement on that
4) this is right time, we can talk of this deficit to negotiate on border issue as china depend on
indian market ,and we depend on them less
plz add your ideas
RightToClearUPSC December 2012
What does 12th 5 year plan have for
1. Women Security
2. Women Empowerment
3. Manual Scavenging
4. Inter Migration security and Intra Migration Security.
All these 4 topics have been hot round the year , so i guess atleast in Prelims they will appear in
one form or the another. or otherwise a 5 marker in Mains.
DivyaDecember 2012
persons in news
Sunil Gangopadhyay
Writer from W.Bengal, recently died.
Autobiography: "Ardhek Jiban"(half a life)
Ansuya Sarabhai
J oined with Gandhi to lead historic strike of Mill Workers in A'bad.
Ami Bara
Third Indian American to been elected in US House of Representatives.
Nair December 2012
Duma's Bill
Russia is the third-most favored place for
adoptions by U.S. families, after China and Ethiopia.But now this Duma
Bill prohibits Americans from adopting russian Orphans.
What Putin'ists say ?
Nationalists insisted that Russia could take care of its own children.
High-profile cases of death and abuse of adopted
Russian children in recent years. There have been 19 deaths among the 60k Russian
children adopted by Americans over the past two decades (regrettable cases, but
relatively few.)
What critiques say ?
Many
of the children enjoy a better life if they get adopted than suffering
the Russia pathetic Orphanages.The legislation would deny hundreds of
children an opportunity each year
to escape the dire condition of Russian orphanages.
Although Mr. Putin
says of caring for these children we must do it ourselves, the simple
fact is that many of them will not be adopted by Russians, and they
often suffer in primitive facilities.
What triggered the Russians to pass this Bill ? What is Magnitsky Bill ?
In November The United States and Russia approved abilateral agreement in November for
improving the process of such adoptions.
But U.S legislated a bill called Magnitsky Bill (approved by Congress and signed by
President Obama) that denies visas and other privileges for Russian officials who abuse
human rights.
The bill was named after Russian lawyer, Sergi Magnitsky, who died of maltreatment in
prison after exposing tax fraud by Russian officials.
Mr. Putin and the Russian elite have been fuming about the Bill which resulted in Dumas
bill.
(source : wp)
MALIK December 2012
mrunal sir
plz discuss about "CYBER SECUIRTY GET REVAMPED IN THIS FIVE YEAR PLAN"
Sugar Decontrol and Rangarajan Committee
Why Sugar industry?
It is government controlled to give you your subsidized sugar by controlling the industry with
measures such as:
1. Mills have to sell sugar to the government, 10% of their production at lower price than
market.
2. Compulsory jute bags to be covered for the sugar(to support the jute industry)
What other measures that are used to control
1.Farmers have to sell their product to the nearest mill owner.(This they would anyways do
because sugarcane loses it sugar content very soon. And farmers also get paid for the sugar
content derived out of the sugarcane. So to have better returns they would go to the nearest
mill.)
2. Mills should be present with a minimum distance of 15kms with each other.
3. Sugar is imported and exported by India on a domestic demand basis. If things go south, then
the export is stopped and import is made higher if necessary.
SAP vs FRP:
There are 2 prices for sugar- State Administered Price(SAP) and the Fair and Remunerative
Price (FRP).
The FRP is set by the centre whereas the SAP is set by the state. The states set the SAP high so
that their state sugarcane farmers get high profits.The mill owners should sell their sugarcane at
the SAP if applicable. In UP itself there are 40 lakh sugarcane farmers. So highly political
issue.
There was a controversy earlier in 2009 when the Central government wanted the states to bear
the difference between FRPs and the SAPs. It did not succeed due to a lot of political hue and
cry.
Recommendations of Committee:
1. Do away with SAP and follow FRP to compensate farmers. After paying the FRP, the mill
owners should give 70% of profits back to the farmers.(To benefit both sides. FRP is
lower->lower compensation paid by mill owners. Profit to be shared->moeny for value).
2. To do away with the 10% sale to the government. Instead government will give this amount
to the states to procure sugar for themselves from the market for their PDSs.(This will reduce
the subsidy burden on the centre. Also procurement charges can be avoided. Centre buys
sugar->gives it to state->lot of logistics)
3. Do away with the jute bags compulsion(Apparently 1000 crores can be saved with the use of
plastic bags).
4. Do away with the minimum distance compulsion(To increase competition).
5.Farmers can sell it to any mill they want (Coupled with reco 4, it gives the farmer options to
do business).
Analysis of the report
The industry has appreciated this report and welcomed it because it relieves government
control. But the question remains as to the implementation of the recommendations. As
Mrunal would say, this is just another tormentor for aspirants and nothing else. It will
most probably fade away into oblivion just like the other committees and
recommendations made by Mr.Rangarajan.
Yearbook
1. Coal regulator Bill: he'll have to power ot fix prices of coal.
2. Planning Commission says by 2020, Pharma sectors should be @$100 billion (right now
only 22)
3. ANS (Air navigation services): Governmet has decided it'll function as a separate
authority just like AAI.
Diplomacy:India's priority: ASEAN vs GCC?
(based on IE report, Raja Mohan)
Trade with ASEAN=80bn
---"---with GCC=120bn
yet, GCC long way from acquiring ASEAN like importance in India's foreign policy.
Recently Oman's Sultan declined invitation to be chief guest in 26th J an 2013 parade, now
Bhutan King will do the honors.
Economy: Infra bonds
right now FII, MF and QFI can invest upto $75 bn in debt every year.
Now limit increased by another $25 bn - but for investing in Infrastructure Debt Bonds only.
Polity: Rape punishments
(based on IE report.)
India, UK =7 years to life
China=10 years to Death
Russia=15 years.
Texas, USA=99 years
For the case of GCC, India needs them much more because Energy security is much more
important than trade. The reason for the skewed trade figures is because of this oil imports.
Though the bilateral trade is not favourable to India, it still feels GCC countries are important.
For Rape punishment, a recent Hindu article regarding castration came up.
Surgical Castration: Doesnt mean removal of penis, but involves the removal of the testes by
surgical methods.
Chemical Castration: By injecting drugs that prevent the production of the testosterone as along
as administered.
A sessions court in New Delhi wanted laws to be made for castration as punishment, for child
sex abuse and repeated offenders.
Inner Line Permit Issue in Manipur
What is ILP?
For security reasons the government requires that people from other states should get ILPs to
travel in sensitive states. Namely, Arunachal Pradesh,Nagaland and Mizoram.
Also this protects the tribal population in these states as the influx of outside state people will
endanger the tribal population.
What Act?
Under an archaic Act called the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act,1873 these states have
been given this status.
To whom?
Anybody(including Indian citizens) who needs to travel to these states has to get this
document.
Manipur Issue
Manipur has asked the Central government to include it in this list, to protect its tribal
population. The Manipur Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to this effect in September
2012. But the Centre has refused to do the same. So the Manipur government is furious about
it.
XYZJanuary 1
@Shivaram. Although your write up about the ILP regime is concise and
accurate however you seemed to have misunderstood the fundamental issue
why it is not allowed by the Central govt.
The issue is not about protecting the tribal districts which enjoy de
facto protection under 6th schedule (because of the presence of a very
strong tribal movement which is supported by a powerful insurgent group
i.e NSCN(I-M) which is currently in talks with the Central govt) even
though it has not been officially implemented in the hill areas. The
issue arises due to the demands by the valley community of Manipur which
is populated by the meiteis(non tribals) who want to enjoy the same
rights as the tribals in the hill districts. The meitei community which
occupies only 10% of Manipur are not allowed to own land in tribal
area(which comprise of the remaining 90%) resulting in a situation where
70% of Manipur's population lives in 10% of its area and on top of that
migrants from all over India as well as tribals from hill areas of
manipur are buying up lands in the valley area which inturn results in
more deprivation of the meitei community. The migrant population now
comprise of almost one-third of the valley population which has resulted
in the insecurity of the meitei community resulting in the demand for
ILP as it will prevent the ballooning migrant population.
The Home Minister Shinde however has clearly stated that the demand for
ILP in "non tribal areas" is unconstitutional and thus cannot be
implemented. This has resulted in the standoff between the Manipur govt
and the Central govt, and not because of the reason that you stated as
because if it was to protect the tribal population it would have been
constitutional and the centre would have obliged.
ShivaramJanuary 1
Thanks for the correction. I had read that it was to save the indigenous population which I assumed was
the tribal population. I did not know the reason why it was denied and if I had then I would have posted
that also. Which in turn would have made me realize my own mistake. :)
I had kept some articles for deeper reading which dwells light on the issue but couldnt do so far.
Also another correction is the Manipur assembly moved the resolution in J uly 2012.
From where did you get your statistics?
XYZJanuary 1
@Shivaram
My pleasure. Statistics are from Census 2011, local papers of Manipur, Nagaland and "Seven
sisters post" of Assam.
Mrunal J anuary 2
Import tarrif value for Gold-Silver
Released fortnightly.
From this "base-price", custom duty on gold and silver is determined by Central Board
of Excise and Customs (CBEC).
Government has reduced this tarrif value, given the volatile price trend in international
market.
Kuriles: disputed islands between Russia and J apan
Sirturo (Bedaquiline)
it is a new drug for MDR-TB, approved by USFDA.
(Di ospora) Ami Ber a and Tul si Gabbar d
US House of representatives (Both Democrats), recently sworn-in.
Abhijeet357J anuary 3
@all, need volunteers for creating database of topic wise questions asked in previous year.
@mrunal, Please guide me for creating the same.
Inout J anuary 4
I want to know about the schemes offered by the Government of India in a single place so
anyone can help me with this. The developer of this site can consolidate all the schemes in an
article.
mridulaR January 4
anybody please tell me how to note down hindu paper news
Das121January 4
At the outset, I would like to thank Mr. Mrunal for the wonderful work of guiding the aspirants
and making the difficult subjects/topics interesting and easily comprehend-able.
I am Das, originally from Assam but now in Bangalore. I am an M.Sc. in computer Science.
Looking forward to learn lots of things from this site.
Thank you....
Nair January 5
image
Shale Gas - US, China and India
what is shale gas and its significance ?
You can refer mrunal's article on Shale Gas.
why is that a trending topic for CSAT 2013?
The recent Harvard-based Belfer Center report Oil: The Next
Revolution suggests that shale oil could be providing America with as
much as six million barrels a day by 2020. The United States imported
only 11 million barrels of crude oil a day in 2011. Given the potential
for offshore and conventional domestic oil production, this would
suggest that by 2020, America could be near energy independence in oil.
For the Europeans, the shale revolution is also largely positive. A
greater variety of gas supplies from liquefied natural gas originally
destined for the United States has been dumped in European markets; by
2020, shale gas in the form of liquefied natural gas is likely to begin
arriving in Europe in significant quantities, and there is also the
prospect of some domestic shale gas becoming available. Europe will also
benefit from the second stage of the shale revolution as oil prices
come under pressure.
Geopolitically, the shale revolution strengthens the United States,
reduces Chinas energy dependence, generates a major global stimulus,
which takes the Western economies off the fiscal rocks, while
potentially destabilising both the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia.
The incentives for the West and China to develop shale-based fossil fuel
resources are so great that they will continue to press ahead with them
(source: The Hindu 31/12/12) (try to know about India's efforts in this field and if possible
post in this forum)
Mrunal J anuary 6
Resazurin Reduction Test (RRT)
developed by Mumbai's institute.
Home sperm testing kit.
principle: oxidation-reduction color change.
ICMR has invited bids to commercialize it.
Culture
Some tribal Dances of Chattisgarh (based on the recently held Sirpur festival)
Gaur Mariya Nritya, Kaksar Nritya =Tribal dances of Bastar.
Mrunal J anuary 8
MARS Mission of ISRO
Only five nations/org. have launched MARS missions so far: US, Russia, Europe,China
and J apan.
PSLV-XL=This will be used to deliver the payload.
MENCA=it'll study Mar's atmosphere. (Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition
Analyzer.)
Thermal Infrared Spectrometer =study surface of Mars.
RightToClearUPSC January 8
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp, has
agreed to buy US energy major ConocoPhillipss 8.4 % stake in Kazakhstans
Kashagan oilfields for about $5 billion (around Rs 30,000 crore).
RightToClearUPSC January 8
Ravi
Narain, Managing Director and CEO of National Stock Exchange (NSE). He will
be replaced by Chitra Ramkrishna, currently
joint MD of NSE from April 1, 2013
123
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