LEC.

 TOPIC 1: Passive Euthanasia(SC  historic judgement)

TOP 5 POINTS: 
 
1. Euthanasia means ‘good death’ ending the life of a ill patient to relieve him/her from a life of pain and suffering 
with physician support. It is popularly known as “Mercy Killing” 
 
2. Euthanasia type: 
 
i.Voluntary Euthanasia(Active & Passive euthanasia, Active eut.‐using lethal injection &  Passive eut.‐stoping 
the treatment) with patient consent 
 
ii.Non Voluntary Euthanasia(without patient consent applicable for childrens) 

iii.InVoluntary Euthanasia(is conducted against the will of the patient) 

3. SC 09 March 2018 passed a historic judgement to declare ‘passive euthanasia because of Nurse Aruna working 
at KEM hospital Mumbai & Molested on 27/11/1973, caused deprivation of oxygen to her brain, which left her in a 
vegetative state for 42 years before she eventually died from pneumonia on 18 May 2015. 
 
4. Aruna friend Pinki Virani, a social activist, filed a petition in the Supreme Court arguing that the "continued 
existence of Aruna is in violation of her right to live in dignity" 
 
5. Euthansia is legalized in EU member countries,USA & only Asian country India 

LEC. TOPIC 2: Naxalism in India 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. Naxalism was born 50 years ago in a village called Naxalbari in West Bengal. Reason for the formation was 
inhuman exploitation of agricultural laborers by landlords who sold their land at cheap prices. Judges who gave 
legal verdicts against farm workers and in favor of landlords and politicians for money. 

2. Communist China sent arms via Nepal to Naxalbari. A voice raised against injustice to the laborers and then took 
up arms. the first victim became landlords, and then the corrupt police and politician's,  judges were killed. 

3. The flames of revolution have continued & Naxalites Started to follow Mao's three proclaimed tasks given in the 
theory: 

i. national unity; ii. social and economic change; iii. freedom from foreign interference. 

4. Today, 10 states of India are affected by it. Naxalites get a lot of money with violence and intimidation. Each 
cargo truck moving from that region has to pay 50 rupees at each tollbooth. They charge a monthly installment of 
Rs 8 lakhs from mining & other companies. If the installment does not get on time, the armed Naxalites can go to 
any extent. 

5. 50 years ago, the Revolution whose aim was to improve the hope of justice for the oppressed laborers today is 
inverted. Today, There are 90,000 square kilometers of Indian territory where the government machinery cannot 
be run without accepting Naxalites norms. 
1. In 1949 the Indian govt asking the proposal to reserve vacancies in the Army for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes as had been done in other government services. 

2. On 15 January 1949 K.M.Cariappa(the second Field Marshal of India) took over as the first native commander‐in‐ 
chief of the Indian Army after Lieutenant General Sir Roy Bucher retired 

3. He was the one who turned down the proposal to reserve vacancies in the Army. He stated the two statements
to the Indian govt: 

i. That the proposal would degrade the Army's standards

ii. And increase the risk of it being defeated if the right talent was not recognized.

4. You have many caste based regiments in Army like

• Maratha Regiment,

• Rajputana Regiment

• Jat & Gorkha Regiment

5. There are also regiments which are based on region like

• Bihar Rifles,

• Dogra Regment

• Garwal Rifles

• Madras Regiment

•
LEC. TOPIC 4: NCC in school TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The Nation cadet Corp(N.C.C) is the organization, which is regulated under the Ministry of Defence. It act as the
body to provide the basic military training that inculcate the feeling of comradeship, courage, honesty and above 
all the patriotism. 

2. It came into force in 1948 with a view to impart the rudimentary skills and training in handling of weapons of
different type, and make them physically tough such that they could face the hardship easily. 

3. N.C.C training is imparted in two levels(training is given to student in age group of 13 to 26 in the school and
college): 

1. Upto school level

2. College level

4. The Major General is the authority, who lead this organization and all the military personnel is employed in the
training. So as rule of thumb, sense of discipline is developed in the student that helps the student to lead a happy 
life in their rest days. 

5. Enormous benefit associated with the N.C.C training, which is listed following points:

Friendship development, Confidence,  Leadership, Patriotism, Honesty, Punctuality, Sense of readiness, Sense of 
responsibly 

LEC. TOPIC 5: TRIPLE TALAQ 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

Shayara Bano ... Petitioner   VERSUS    Union of India and others ... Respondents 

1. Triple Talaq(divorce three times) the controversial Islamic practice that allows men to leave their wives
immediately by stating "Talaq" (divorce) three times, calling the practice "unconstitutional".'Triple Talaq' violates 
fundamental rights of women. Several Muslim women who have been divorced because of "Triple Talaq", 

2. The majority opinion held that triple talaq" is not integral to religious practice and violates constitutional
morality". The Supreme Court Bench referred to the fact that several Islamic countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia 
etc., do not allow triple talaq; hence questionable why it should not be abolished in India. 

3. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a non‐governmental body which oversees the application of
Muslim Personal Law, opposes any ban on triple talaq and argues this is a religious matter and not in the ambit of 
the courts. 

4. Three of the five judges held that triple talaq violates the tenets of the Quran. Critics say it leaves women
destitute and robs them of basic rights. "We told the court that the practice has no basis in the law or in the 
Quran," said Balaji Srinivasan, a lawyer for Shayara Bano whose husband divorced her by writing "talaq" three 
times on a piece of paper and handing it over to her. 

5. The BJP has long pushed for a 'Uniform Civil Code' to be enforced which would end the reach of different
religious laws in civil issues, A law of the land equal for all citizens of India. landmark  case, declaring Triple Talaq 
unconstitutional,  derogatory and discriminatory for women. 
LEC. TOPIC 6: UNIFORM CIVIL CODE 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. A uniform civil code will mean “a set of common personal laws for all citizens”. Currently, for example, there are 
“different personal laws for Hindus and Muslims”. Personal law covers property, marriage and divorce, inheritance 
and succession. 

2. After independence, the Indian Government under Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to bring out a uniform civil code. 
However, after heated debates and oppositions, 4 bills relating to personal laws of Hindus (Hindu Marriage Act, 
Succession Act, Minority and Guardianship Act and Adoptions and Maintenance Act) could only be passed. 
3. Recent events Muslim women owing to arbitrary divorce(triple talaq) the Supreme Court had held that Bano, a 
Muslim woman, should get alimony from her former spouse. In the context of that judgement, the court had said 
uniform civil code should apply for personal law 

4. True spirit of secularism‐ Uniform Civil code is true spirit of secularism as religion is a personal matter so laws 
should be common for all religions. It means Uniform laws for all engendering equality among all citizens; 
Inconsistency in personal laws runs contrary to Right to Equality. 

5. The establishment of a Uniform Civil code would pave way for greater unity among Indians. The animosity due 
to different treatment of different sections under different laws will be removed.Human right violations and 
exploitations due to social institutiona and norms such as Khap dictates and honour killings can be checked 
effectively. 

LEC. TOPIC 7: World Economic Forum(‘Invest India’) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The 48th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting is underway at Davos, Switzerland with effect from 
23rd January to 26th January 2018. The theme of this year's Annual Meeting is “Creating a Shared Future in a 
Fractured World”. 

2Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister in 20 years after former PM HD Deve 
Gowda in 1997. PM Modi addressed the opening session of the World Economic Forum 2018 and highlighted, 
climate change, terrorism and protectionism as three global threats 

3. Besides, seven more round table meetings are scheduled to be organized by ‘Invest India’ on finance, financial 
inclusion for promoting digital payments, clean energy solutions for a better future, development of railway 
industry in India, developing skills in a digital world and promoting design in India. 

4. The Summit includes the participation of more than 3,000 delegates from across 100 countries of the world in 
over 400 interactive sessions with the view to engage business, political, academic, and other leaders of the 
society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas 

5. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that India will be the fastest growing economy in 2018, but its 
Inclusive Development Index (IDI) still lags behind China. The IDI takes into account the living standards, 
environmental sustainability and protection of future generations from further indebtedness. India was ranked at 
the 62nd place among the 74 emerging economies, much below China’s 26th position and even Pakistan’s 47th. 

LEC. TOPIC 8: ROHINGYA REFUGEES A SECURITY THREAT TO‐INDIA? 

TOP 5 POINTS: 
1. Rohingya population concentrated in ARAKAN region (Rakhine state)of Myanmar, it is situated west coast near 
to Bangladesh. Myanmar has majority of Buddhist population & Rakhine state has majority of Muslim population. 

2. The reason for conflict is ethnic rift b/w Buddhist & Muslim, Rohingya Muslim leader approached Muhammed 
Ali Jinnah(Pak. founder) to consider religious affinity & geographical proximity with East Pak(Bangladesh). 

3. Post‐independence of Burma after Jan,1948 the citizenship law of 1982 was instituted Rohingya or any 
minority community can provide proof of ancestor have lived prior to 1823 or else they considered as 
“Resident foreigner”.Democratically elected president “Htin Kyaw” unwilling to grant citizenship to Rohingya 
Muslims.Rohingya muslims formed a militant called Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army(ARSA). The Rohingya 
Muslim woman raped which broken riot b/w Muslim & Buddhist. ARSA launched an attack on 30 police  posts 
& an army base. 

4. Myanmar military has launched a “clearance operation” on Rohingya muslims which raped & killed more than 
3,000 people. More than1,00,000 fleed to Bangladesh, 40,000 to India. Now many militant group like Al‐qaeda, 
Jamat‐e‐islami, ISIS entered into camp for distribute relief material & also to provide arms training. 

LEC. TOPIC 9: INDIA FRANCE RELATION 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The foundations of French‐ India ties are strong and time‐ tested. France was the first country with which we 
established a strategic partnership( in 1998).Our Defence ties dates back to 1950s, with France providing excellent 
defence hardware that had served us well. 

2. French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit at this juncture was an important event for India. While the 
contract for 6 Scorpene Submarines and 36 Rafale Aircrafts fortify our ties. criticism from the opposition 
parties(Ghulam Nabi Azad has said Rafale jet each at a price of Rs 351 crore higher than those sold to Qatar and 
Egypt.) in India. The opposition accused that India by this deal had caused Rs 12,632 crore loss to the exchequer. 
They argued that Rafale jets were sold to Qatar and Egypt at a lower price in 2016. 

3India is a natural partner for France to checkmate the growing strength of China signalled by its 'Belt and Road 
Initiative ( BRI)' which can create massive growth‐ political impact in the whole world. Another common platform 
we both nations share, is the fight against terrorism. France had been a victim of frequent ghastly terror attacks 
and share a common cause. 

4. The much delayed Jaitapur nuclear power project, both leaders reiterated the goal of commencing work at 
Jaitapur site by the end of 2018. Once installed this project will be the largest nuclear power plant in the world, 
with a total capacity of 9.6 GW. It will contribute to achieving India’s goal of 40 % non‐fossil energy by 2030. 

5. Jaitapur is considered to be prone to seismic activity. According to a leading Daily it falls under the Zone 3 
category. Data collected by the Geological Survey of India has suggested that there have been over 92 quakes in 20 
years, the biggest of them being 6.2 on the Richter scale. Keeping this in view and the recent Fukushima I nuclear 
accidents in Japan, massive protests are being organized by the locals and the tribes in this area who do not trust 
the Indian Government of providing them with adequate safeguards and preserving the Biodiversity of the region. 
LEC. TOPIC 10: UN Resolution Against Jerusalem as Israeli Capital 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The Ottoman Empire ruled the complete greater Syrian region from 1517 to 1917.World War I witnessed the 
defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Geographically, Syria consisted of a number of Ottoman Vilayets 
(administrative divisions), currently comprising Jordan, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon. 

2. The southern part, called Palestine, was assigned to Great Britain; the northern part called Syria and Lebanon 
was assigned to France. Hence, the divisions were made without giving any relevance to ethnicity and religion. The 
"two‐state solution" would basically create an independent Israel and Palestine, with a separate Jewish and 
Palestinian state. 
3. The most significant issue being that, Israel claims the entire city of Jerusalem as its united capital, while 
Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of its future Palestinian state. President Donald Trump's decision to 
recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.Where Jerusalem is the most holy place for Jews, Muslims and 
Christians, as it is the birth place of all these three religions. 

4. UN Resolution voting – 21st December 2017  In the voting of the 193‐member UN General Assembly, 128 
countries voted for the resolution, while nine countries voted "no," and 35 countries abstained, India voted against 
UN resolution 

5. There are about 420,000 Palestinians and 200,000 Israeli citizens living in East Jerusalem under army and police 
protection, with the largest single settlement complex housing 44,000 Israelis. By raking up this controversial issue 
he has only stirred up emotions that will result in more bloodshed and will jeopardize, years of efforts for peaceful 
settlement of the dispute. 

LEC. TOPIC 11: CYBER WARFARE 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. It is a action by a nation state to penetrate another nation computers for damage or disruption. It is done by 
terrorist group, political group, hacktivist & transnational criminal organisation 

2. Cyber‐attack types of threats: 

i. Espinoage 

ii. Sabotage 

iii. Propaganda 

3. Espinoage: It is a “spying work” provide information to make successful cyber attack.US “Titan rain” spying by US 
on many countries. 

4. Sabotage: It is a “Damaging work” computer & satellite are coordinate to destruct other activity. “Stuxnet” did 
by US against Irans nuclear program. 

5. Propaganda: It is a Psychological warfare” by using social media, fake news website & digital program.A 
whatsapp fake news killed 7 people in Jharkand recently, Various job vacancies in abroad & India. 

Cyber warfare is solved by cyber peace & cyber counter intelligence such as surveillance technology & cyber space 
militarization 
 
LEC. TOPIC 12: DOPING IN SPORTS 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. Doping means athletes taking “Illegal substances” to improve their performances. There are five classes of 
banned drugs which make health risks involved in taking them & they are banned by sports governing authority. 

2. Five classes of banned drugs: 

i. Anabolic steroid 
 
ii. Human growth hormone 

iii. Creatine 

iv. Stimulants 

v. Blood doping. 

3. The factors which attract doping are “psychological attraction of the believe system” and “social & physical 
parameters” 

4. Remembering some of the famous sportsman in the history who used these substances: 

i. Shane warner(Cricket) world cup 2003. 

ii. Maria Sharapova(Tennis palyer) Australia open 2016. 

iii. Maradona(Football) world cup 1994. 

5. The technology is more developed to easily find out the various “Doping substances” & “other illegal activities” 
but still it’s happening because laws are not strict. Stricter punishments approved by Coe New president of IAAF 
came into effect in January, doubling bans for athletes found guilty of doping from two years to four. 

LEC. TOPIC 13: Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities‐ POA) Act 1989 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. To prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes to deliver justice to these communities 
through proactive efforts and enable them to live in the society with dignity and self‐esteem and without the 
fear(which extends to whole of India except the State of Jammu & Kashmir) 

2. Misuse of the Provisions of the Act, The provisions of the Act were being misused by “filing false cases”, e.g. in 
2015‐17, a total of 15,638 cases under the Act were decided by courts across the country of which 11,024 cases 
resulted in acquittal and only 4,119 cases resulted in a conviction. 

3. Immediate arrest of public & private servants against whom any such complaint is lodged under POA act 1989, 
while performing their official duties, were also being misused. 

4. Supreme court issued the amendments to the Act on 20 March 2018 “the accused person will be entitled to 
anticipatory bail, and a preliminary inquiry must be conducted by police within seven days before taking any action 
against the public servant. In case, such a complaint is filed against a private employee, the Supreme Court 
instructed that the Senior Superintendent of Police concerned may allow the arrest of the person after carrying   
out preliminary investigation on the complaint filed against him”. 

5. Several Dalit groups like, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, Rashtriya Seva Dal and National Dalit Movement for 
Justice, among others, called for a Bharat Bandh against this revision of the SC/ST Act on 02nd April 2018. Nine lives 
were lost and many were injured. Besides, a lot of public and private property was damaged during the 
clashes.However, the Supreme Court has refused to change its stance 
LEC. TOPIC 14: Indo‐China Relationship 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. Historically India and China have had cordial relations for more than 2,000 years. The traditional Silk Road not 
only served as a route for trade, spread of Buddhism from India to China. In April 1954, India and the People 
Republic China(PRC) signed an eight‐year agreement on Tibet that recognised sovereignty of China over Tibet as its 
autonomous region. The Tibetan religious leader, Dalai Lama and thousands of refugees, who sought sanctuary in 
Dharamsala. 

2. In 1959, China claimed 104,000 km² of territory, over which India's maps were showing clear sovereignty, and 
demanded "rectification" of the entire border.China made a proposal to India that it “would relinquish its claim to 
most of India's northeast in exchange for India's abandonment of its claim to Aksai Chin”.  The above is the primary 
reason for deterioration of Indo‐China relations leading to PRC accusing India of expansionism into Tibet and 
throughout the Himalayan region, which finally resulted in the 1962 Indo‐China war. 

3. In late 1967, there were two skirmishes between Indian and Chinese forces in Sikkim. The first one was dubbed 
the "Nathu La incident", and the other the "Chola incident", where exchange of heavy fire took place at the Sikkim 
outpost. During the whole conflict Indian losses were 88 killed and 163 wounded, while Chinese casualties were 
300 killed and 450 wounded in Nathu La, and 40 in Chola. 

4. China’s Policy of ‘String of Pearls’  is to isolate India and keep it confined to the back waters of South Asia 
through its policy of establishing a ‘string of pearls’ by increasing its influence over all neighbours of India, like, 
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and of course with its all‐time ally Pakistan. 

5. It is indulging in full scale infrastructure diplomacy by enhancing its connectivity to our buffer states of Bhutan 
and Nepal, forging better economic ties with Myanmar by assisting in its gas exploration and infrastructure 
development in Sri Lanka and Pakistan by building ports, etc. 

It was on his proposal that in the conference Panchsheel, that is to say, five principles conducting relations among 
the countries were adopted. 

The five principles were: 

(a) Peaceful Co‐existence, 

(b) Non‐aggression, 

(c) Equality and mutual assistance, 

(d) Mutual respect for territorial integrity 

(e) Non‐intervention. 
LEC. TOPIC 15: Indo‐srilanka Relationship 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1.Friendly relations for nearly 2500 years. Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka from India during the era of Mahinda, the 
son of Buddha.Sri Lanka has a majority population comprising of Sinhalese, with Buddhist ethnicity and a minority 
population of Tamils, who are Hindus. 

2.During the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, there was an uprising by the Tamils against the Sinhala centric 
Government policies,India provided moral support to  Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE)‐trained Tamil 
militants. 

Sri Lankan armed forces tried to tighten the noose around the Tamil militants by blockading their hub at Jaffna in 
1987. India opposed the Sri Lankan governments move and openly came forth to support by providing air supply of 
medicines and food to the besieged Tamils in Jaffna. 

3.On 29 July 1987, an Indo‐ Sri Lanka Peace Accord was signed between India PM Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan 
President JR Jayewardene.PM RAJIV deployed of Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) and disarming the Tamil 
Tigers.India was not completely successful in the IPKF.Sri Lankan President demanded Indian troops to withdraw 
and the withdrawal was completed by March 1990. 

4.It is estimated that nearly 50000 Tamil civilians were killed and gross Human Rights violation occurred.On 21 May 
1991, PM Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE in Tamilnadu.President Mahinda Rajapaksha stepped up the 
operations By 2009 LTTE was completely annihilated amidst a lot of despicable human rights violations. 

5.China funded much of Sri Lanka's post‐war infrastructure under the Rajapakse administration.China is 
constructing for Sri Lanka the world’s biggest port on land till date, called the Port of Hambantota.The 
development of facilities by China in the region is being considered as a propagation of its "string of pearls" 
strategy to counter the rise of its Asian rival with India. 

India conveyed its displeasure to China during the brief appearance of a warship and two Chinese submarines in Sri 
Lankan waters last year. 

LEC. TOPIC 16: ASEAN Summit 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1.Organisation came into existence on 08 August 1967. Initial members included Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, 
Singapore and Thailand, and later, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam were also included into the 
organisation. 

2. The 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit was held on 13‐14 November 2017 at Manila, 
Philippines. 

PM Narendra Modi represented India at the 15th ASEAN‐India Summit. 

3.ASEAN Summit is held twice a year to discuss and resolve political, economic and regional issues.Promote 
regional peace and stability. 
4.ASEAN maintains strategic relations with Australia, Canada, and the People’s Republic of China, the European 
Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, and the USA. 

5.Most of the ASEAN countries and Japan are projecting a tough stance towards China’s aggressive design of 
unlawfully encroaching upon land and maritime territories of other countries.In order to limit India’s regional 
dominance, China has adopted a policy of “String of Pearls” to isolate and intimidate India by expanding its area of 
influence around Indian territorial extremities. 

LEC. TOPIC 17: ONE RANK ONE PENSION(OROP) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1.Is a “uniform pension paid to the defence employees retiring in the same rank with the same length of service”. 
It was introduced by former defence minister Manohar parrikar 

2. Earlier the “date of retirement” determines the “amount of pension” based on each pay commission 

3.The problem is the defence employee who retired early “receive less pension as compared to those who retired 
later with the same rank & same length of service” 

4. Govt took 4 decades to implement it because government will have to payout in thousand of crores as initial 
amount to compensate for previous year. It was the long‐awaited demand of military personnel and PM Narendra 
Modi led NDA government approved OROP in 2015. 

5. Equal payment issued to soldiers irrespective of their retirement date. Earlier if a sepoy retired in 1996 was 
receiving 82% lower pension than the sepoy who retired in 2006. One rank one pension benefit many retired 
soldiers and to wives of martyred. 

LEC. TOPIC 19: Babri Masjid Dispute 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The Hindus believe that this very spot was the birth place of lord Ram and a mosque was built by Babur after 
destroying their most holy temple that existed at that location in 1528.  2.7 acres of land in the city of Ayodhya, 
located in Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh. 

2. 06 December 1992 ‐ The VHP and its associates, including the BJP, organised a rally involving 150,000 VHP and 
BJP kar sevaks at the site of the mosque. Fiery speeches were delivered by the BJP leaders such as Advani, Murli 
Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti. Despite a commitment from the state government to the Supreme Court that the 
mosque would not be harmed, the mob demolished the mosque. More than 2000 people were killed in the riots 
that followed the demolition. 

3. 2002 ‐ Communal tension continued over the years. At least 58 people were killed in Godhra, Gujarat, in an 
attack on a train believed to be carrying Hindu volunteers from Ayodhya. The communal riots that followed the 
Godhra incident in Gujarat led to over 2000 Muslim people dead. 

4. 2003 ‐ The court ordered the Geological Survey of India to find out whether a temple of Lord Ram existed on the 
site. In August, the survey presented evidence of a temple under the mosque. Muslim groups disputed the  
findings. 
5. The 25 year old issue regarding the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya, which was also one of the major 
2014 election manifestos of BJP, has already started prominently emerging above the horizon as a perceptible 
election issue for 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 

LEC. TOPIC 20: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. India’s pursuit for space research began immediately after it became a Republic on 26 January 1950. Indian 
National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established at Bangalore in 1962 with Vikram Sarabhai as 
its Chairman. In 1969, INCOSPAR was superseded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) 

2. UN Resolution imposing sanctions against “India after the Pokaran Nuclear Test” conducted by India in May 
1998. India was dependent on Russia for the commercial launch of satellites to the development of Polar Satellite 
Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). 

3.Milestones in the Journey of ISRO: 

(i). India built its first satellite, ‘Aryabhatta’ that was launched into space by Soviet Union on 15 April 1975. 

(ii).In 1980 ‘Rohini’, was the first satellite placed into orbit by the Indian SLV‐3. 

(iii).Chandrayan‐1 became the first lunar mission to discover the traces of water on moon. 

4. ISRO achieved by its first Mars Orbiter Mission called the Mangalyan the unattainable on 24 September 2014 ( 
$74 million), and India became the first country in the entire world to put the Mars Orbitter into its intended orbit 
at a distance of 423 km from Mars in its first attempt. 

5. The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched the PSLV‐C37 rocket a new world record on 15 
February 2017 carrying the 104 satellites, which lifted off from its launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in 
Sriharikota 

LEC. TOPIC 21: SUPREME COURT Verdict of on Cauvery Water 

 TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The dispute with respect to sharing of Cauvery water between Kerala, and erstwhile princely states of 
Madras(Tamilnadu & Puducherry) and Mysore(karnataka) dates back to pre‐independence era. The States 
Reorganisation Act of 1956, which changed the boundaries and configuration of the states made the issue even 
more complex. To solve the issue in June 1990, the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was constituted. 

. 2. Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal as recommended in February 2007, made an annual allocation of 419 tmcft to 
Tamil Nadu in the entire Cauvery basin, 270 tmcft to Karnataka, 30 tmcft to Kerala and 7 tmcft to Puducherry. 
(*tmcft‐ thousand million cubic feet) 

3. Notable Keys: 

(i). The 802 kilometers long Cauvery River has 44,000 km2 basin area in Tamil Nadu and 32,000 km2 basin area in 
Karnataka. 
(ii). Tamil Nadu is very heavily dependent on the existing pattern of usage of the River water as it has already 
developed almost 3,000,000 acres of Agri‐land and any change in this pattern will adversely affect the livelihood of 
millions of farmers in the state. 

(iii). Karnataka has been suffering from an acute water shortage. In fact complete Bengaluru is being supplied with 
drinking water from Cauvery. 

4. On 05 September 2016, Supreme Court directed the Karnataka government to release 15,000 cusecs of water 
per day to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka expressed its inability to release 15,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. Order 
lead to large scale agitations and incidents of arson and vandalism, especially in Bengaluru estimated that the 
financial losses accruing due to these agitations were around Rs 500 crore per day. 

5. Salient Aspects of SC Verdict of 16 Februrary 2018 on Cauvery Water Sharing it has given the Centre six weeks to 
set up a Cauvery Management Board (CMB), assisted by a Cauvery Regulation Committee (CRC). But BJP  not set up 
the board & maintaining silence  for a long time. It affect the livelihood of millions of farmers in the Tamilnadu 
state. 

LEC. TOPIC 22: Defence Research and Devel¬opment Organization (DRDO) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

MOTTO: "Strength's Origin is in Science" 

1. It was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Technical Development Establishment and Production with the 
Defence Science Organization. A separate Department of Defence Research and Development was formed in 1980 
which later on administered DRDO. It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, Government 
of India. With a network of 52 laboratories includes around 5,000 scientists belonging to the Defence Research & 
Development Service (DRDS) and about 25,000 other scientific, technical and supporting personnel. 

2. DRDO is a Mission Mode Organisation, which is primarily engaged in “design and development of strategic, 
complex and security sensitive systems for the Armed Forces”. It administers laboratories, facilities, ranges, 
establishments, programmes and projects pertaining to defence research, including the Aeronautics Development 
Agency. 

3. Functions of DRDO: 

(i). To keep the “defence minister informed about new techno developments in the realm of warfare” 

(ii). To “study and research in areas having a bearing on national security” 

(iii). To analyse information and available technology in terms of their relevance and utility 

4. DRDO prepares combat vehicles; missiles; multi‐barrel rocket launcher; unmanned aerial vehicles; radars; 
electronic warfare systems; sonars; torpedoes; bridging systems; combat aircraft; sensors: cyber system etc., 70 
per cent of imports of the defence purchase have been cut down and replaced by indigenous production. 

5. Milestone achievements of DRDO: 

(i).Prithvi, Agni, Nag missiles for surface‐to‐surface launching. 
(ii).Tanks like Arjun, Bridging Systems  ‘Sarvatra’ 

(iii). Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA)‐ Lakshya,  3D Surveillance Radar ‘Revathi’ 

LEC. TOPIC 23: Facebook Data Leak 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The latest issue to rock the political worldwide and in India is the reported unethical personal data collection 
from facebook,” without the permission of the users, by a private company called Cambridge Analytica (CA) to 
advertise and influence elections”. 

2. The issue came to light when a number of undercover investigative videos, released in March 2018, showed CA 
CEO, Alexander boasting about using prostitutes, bribery sting operations, and honey traps to discredit politicians 
on whom it conducted opposition research. 

3. Indian affiliate of CA which is being run by Mr Amrish Tyagi, the son of Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi. The 
website mentions that BJP, Congress and the Janata Dal (United) of Nitish Kumar are its clients. Mr Tyagi, in a 
recent interview to NDTV, said that his firm had worked for the BJP in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, 
and the Bihar election in 2010 that resulted in a landslide victory. 

4. Cambridge Analytica(CA) was formed in 2012, with the primary motive of influencing the election process in the 
US.CA is believed to have entered the Republican Party Presidential Primaries for 2016 elections and was heavily 
funded by billionaires a major supporter of Donald Trump.CA is now under investigation by the US governments. 

5. CA personality profiling app ‘thisisyourdigitallife’ so they could take personality tests. it could “predict with a 
fairly high degree of accuracy the voting preferences for individuals”. It allowing CA to harvest the data of 50 
million users, without their consent. 

LEC. TOPIC 24: Kathua and Unnao Rape Cases 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The girl in her statement said that she had gone to meet the MLA along with a neighbour to seek his help in 
getting employment. The following week the girl went missing and was recovered by police after 10 days from a 
village in Auraiya. Police recorded her statement, and as per her, the police did not allow her to name the MLA in 
the statement. 
 

2. The Unnao case is no less audaciously dreadful, where a BJP MLA, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, intoxicated on power, 
raped a minor dalit girl, assaulted and beat her father to death. The law and order machinery and the government 
officials were directly in league with Kuldeep Singh Sengar and he was only arrested after the case was handed 
over to the CBI for further investigation. 
 

3. Kathua an eight year old girl, Asifa Bano belonging to the Bakherwal community at the Rassana area of Kathua 
was gang‐raped repeatedly inside a village ‘temple’ being killed by six men by brutally hitting her with a stone, one 
of the culprits was ‘invited” all the way from Meerut to "satisfy his lust". 
 

4. kidnapping, rape and killing of the girl of the Bakherwal community was part of a planned, chilling strategy to 
“instill fear and drive the nomadic tribe out of the region”. Two BJP ministers leading the charge, gave it a 
communal colour and allegedly threatened the police to not make any arrests in the case. 
5. Measures to Prevent Dastardly Crimes against Humanity: 

(i). Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) must be amended to serve death penalty for the rape of 
children below 12 years of age. 

(ii). Paid and biased media reporting is doing the greatest disservice to our national integration. 

(iii). A colonel feels & posted two years of  compulsory military service  learn to respect and value human life and 

possess adequate disciple, morality and humbleness while taking decisions on the future of the nation. 

LEC. TOPIC 25: Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. FATF is an inter‐governmental body that was established in 1989 by a Group of Seven (G‐7) Summit in Paris, 
initially to examine and develop measures to incorporate efforts to combat terrorist financing, meetings three 
times in a year to monitor progress on implementation of its recommendations 

2. Objectives of FATF: 

(i). promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money 
laundering, terrorist financing. 

(ii). proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other related threats to the integrity of the international 
financial system. 

(iii). Review new techniques of money laundering and terrorist financing being adopted by rouge nations. 

3. FATF held its Plenary Meeting in Paris from 21 February to 23 February 2018. This 37 member organization to 
place Pakistan back on the “grey list” was pushed by four member countries, the U.S., the U.K., Germany and 
France of nations with inadequate terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international 
financial system. 

4. Trump administration has been exerting a lot of diplomatic and economic pressure on Pakistan, like it withheld 
security aid worth $1.3 billion last year. While the US signalled a change in its Pakistan policy by employing more 
sticks than carrots, Islamabad found it convenient to stave off US pressure by playing out its growing dependence 
on China. 

5.However, “China’s eventual decision to withdraw its support at FATF” may be seen as a clear reflection of its 
frustration with its long term ally and happens to be the most severe blow to Pakistan in the recent times. Beijing 
remains apprehensive of Pakistan’s efforts to establish peace in Balochistan, where $60 billion worth of 
infrastructure projects it is financing as part of the China‐Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).The Chinese 
investment plan for an economic Corridor from Kashgar through Gilgit‐ Baltistan to Gwadar 

LEC. TOPIC 26: China‐Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. In April 2015,'President Xi Jinping' announced the mega project CPEC ‐ a $ 46 Billion proposal fully sponsored by 
China during his visit to Pakistan, a total which was increased later. The mega‐ project covered energy and 
infrastructure development which has the potential to lift up the sagging economy of Pakistan. The project is an 
important link to their grandiose 'Belt Road Initiative.' 

2. The Chinese investment plan for an economic Corridor from Kashgar through Gilgit‐ Baltistan to Gwadar, 
Pakistani government failed to read the fine print nor do their math. Chinese were going to pump into Pakistan 
was about 20% of Pakistan’s $270 billion dollar economy which may hold the Pakistan in captivity in the coming 
days. Besides, by 2030 Pakistan would have to pay back $90 billion and this would be an additional burden on the 
state. 

3. Bhasha Diamer Dam project from the ambit of CPEC. Both the World Bank and the ADB had refused to fund this 
project without a ’No Objection Certificate’ from India. As expected Pakistan refused to approach India. Chinese 
conditions were unacceptable to Pakistan.. In Nov 2017,pakistan announced the withdrawal of Bhasha Diamer 
Dam project from the ambit of CPEC. 

4. Important achievement of China, is access to Gwadar for obvious geo‐strategic and economic reasons. The 
development of Gwadar and the infrastructure projects of road and rail linkages across the country, are the 
glamorous aspects of the projects. 

5. Control over Pakistan’s agricultural land for feeding its impoverished Kashgar district of Xinjiang. Thousands of 
acres of agricultural land will be leased out to Chinese companies for cultivation. Pakistan government has given 
Chinese firms a number of tax concessions across the entire CPEC projects. Pakistani parliamentarians fear that 
CPEC could mark the arrival of another 'East India Company', which ultimately engulfed the Indian Sub‐Continent. 

LEC. TOPIC 27: One Belt, One Road (OBOR) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. Chinese leader Xi Jinping in September‐October 2013. The proposal is aimed to enhance connectivity between 
“People’s Republic of China and the rest of Europe‐Asia’’. The project consists of two major components, one 
being land based called the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and the other is through the ocean, called the 
Maritime Silk Road (MSR)’. 

2. On 14‐15 May 2017  China hosted a two day Belt and Road Forum (BRF) to facilitate high‐level delegations talks 
among leaders, including 29 Heads of State, on OBOR. countries including Russia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, 
Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal attended the Forum in Beijing, China. India has decided to boycott the Forum on 
principle as it opposes the OBOR leg, called the China‐Pakistan Economic Corridor that runs through the Pakistan 
Occupied Kashmir 

3. Due to the global economic meltdown the demand for products manufactured by China has significantly 
reduced. The falling exports, sluggish economic growth, both globally and at home, industrial overcapacity and an 
obvious need for China to structurally transform its economic cardinals, has sent the Chinese decision makers into 
an overdrive mode to accelerate the Belt & Road Concept initiative. 

4. The major routes that defined the erstwhile Silk Route include: 

(i). Northern Route: USSR and ended at the Caspian Sea/ Black Sea. 

(ii). Southern Route: Pakistan, over the Hindu Kush Mountains, and into Afghanistan. Then, passing through Iran 
and Mesopotamia, it reached North Africa. 
(iii). South Western Route: Northern Burma, into modern Bangladesh and further to Thailand and Java. 

5. The One Belt One Road is clearly an initiative by China to reach out to the prospective buyers of its products and 
allow its industry to function at full capacity. The strategic aim also stands out vividly that outlines China’s desire to 
emerge as a regional leader. India at this stage does find itself isolated from other South Asian nations and 
dominated by China from all directions, but its stance is highly justified. 

TOPIC 28: SYRIAN CHEMICAL ATTACK 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. General Hafez al‐Asad, the Minister of Defence seized power and declared himself President in March 1971. His 
rule lasted till his death in 2000 and was automatically succeeded by his son, the present President, Bashar al‐ 
Assad. Sunni Muslims constitute three fourth of the population of Syria. The ruling Assad family comes from a 
minority Alawite religious group(Shia Muslim). This 12% strong community has had a tight control over the Syrian 
military services. 

2. Discontentment against the government progressively grew owing to inequality in the distribution of resources, 
corruption, violation of human rights, poverty. The strongest protest came from Syria's poor areas, predominantly 
among conservative Sunnis. 

3. Battle ground between: 

‘Syrian Forces’ Vs ‘Rebel Forces & ISIS’ 

(i) The Syrian security forces, with the support of one of the largest Shiite country of the Middle East, i.e. Iran, 
Lebanese Shiite militant group, Hezbollah and is being physically assisted by Russia and morally by China. 

(ii)The Syrian rebels, with the tacit support of the largest Sunni country of Middle East, i.e. Saudi Arabia, Sunni 
militant factions like Al Qaeda and are being supported by US and its European allies. 

4. The most deadly chemical attack conducted by the Syrian military on 21 August 2013 on two rebel controlled 
areas in the suburbs around Damascus, Syria. Rockets containing chemical agent ‘Sarin’ were launched resulting in 
a death toll range from at least 281 to 1,729 people. 

(SARIN‐ Is highly toxic and considered 20 times as deadly as cyanide , which deactivates signals that cause human 
nerve cells to fire.) 

5. On April 7, 2018  Assad’s military reportedly used chemical weapons in an attack in Douma. More than three 
dozen people are believed to have died in the attack. Trump tweets Assad’s regime will pay a “big price” for the 
attack in Douma. “President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad,” Syrian Observatory 
for Human Rights has reported between Mar,2011 to Mar 2018  ‘353,593–498,593’ killed in Syrian civil war. 

LEC. TOPIC 29: PARIS CLIMATE CHANGE AGREMENT TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The world woke up to the challenge of Climate Change for the first time in 1979. Various countries formed an 
international treaty called United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which came into 
force on 21 Mar 1994. However, the efforts fell short of producing visible effects on the ground. So a formalized 
and partially legally binding emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol was adopted at Kyoto in Japan 
which entered into force on 16 February 2005. 
2. There are a total of 195 Parties to UNFCCC and 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Implementation of the 
agreement by all member countries together will be evaluated every 5 years, with the first evaluation in 2023. The 
21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the 11th session of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) 
took place from 30 November to 11 December 2015, in Paris, France. 

3. Salient points of the Agreement are as follows: 

(i) . Endeavour to keep the global temperature increase "well below" 2C (3.6F) 

(ii). The developed countries, in keeping with the demands of India, will take ‘enhanced actions’ on mitigation, 
adaptation, climate finance, technology transfer, capacity building and transparency. 

(iii). $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020, with a commitment to further finance 
in the future has been agreed upon. 

4. India  Environment Minister argued that the developed countries had already occupied two‐thirds of the 3 giga 
tonne carbon emissions space in the atmosphere India’s per capita emissions are one tenth of US. India has been 
pronounced as the third largest polluter after US and China, however, India burns only one seventh of the coal that 
US and China burns. 

5. On April 18, 2017  the dramatic  withdrawal of USA from the Paris Summit  President Trump, had sent 

shockwaves among world nations. US pull out is going to make ripples in the action plan of the affected countries. 
Smaller Countries who would need economic aid to chase their target of controlled emissions also will be affected. 
He further claimed that India had made its participation in the Paris Agreement 'contingent on receiving billions 
and billions and billions in foreign aid from developing countries. 

LEC. TOPIC 30: India‐Nordic Meet and CHOGM 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. PM Modi attended the first ever India‐Nordic Meet at Sweden on 17th ‐ 18th April and then during the second 
leg of his trip he participated in the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) at London on 
April 19th ‐ 20th. When proceeded for a five day official visit to Sweden and UK on 16 April 2018. 

2. Nordic countries include Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The following five MoUs were signed 
with the Nordic countries on the occasion: 

i. Cooperation in the field of sustainable and smart urban development. 

ii. Animal husbandry and dairying. 

iii. Food safety cooperation. 

iv. Agricultural research and education with Denmark. 

v. Establishment of an ICCR Chair for Hindi Language with Iceland. 
3. Modi went to London on 19th April had a bilateral meeting with the British Prime Minister Theresa. 
Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM): 19th‐ 20th April 2018The theme of the Commonwealth 
Summit was "Towards a Common Future". 

4.The British hosts set out the following four main goals for the Summit: 

i. Prosperity: boosting intra‐Commonwealth trade and investment. 

ii. Security: increasing cooperation across security challenges including global terrorism, organised crime and 
cyber attacks. 

iii. Fairness: promoting democracy, fundamental freedoms and good governance across the Commonwealth. 

iv. Sustainability: building the resilience of small and vulnerable states to deal with the effects of climate 
change and other global crises. 

5. Important Decisions Taken during CHOGM: 

i. UK committed £61m to combat the pollution of the world's oceans. Five countries have joined the 
Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance: the UK, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and Ghana. 

ii. Cyber Declaration was adopted that "reflects Commonwealth values, and sets out a common 
commitment to an open, democratic peaceful and secure internet, respecting human rights and freedom of 
expression. 

iii. Strengthening of the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention 

LEC. TOPIC 31: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and SouthAfrica(BRICS) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The power of ‘Five’, constitutes, one fourth of the world’s landmass, 3.6 billion people, or half of the world’s 
population and accounts for 25% of the global GDP amounting to $16 trillion. Aim of establishing BRICS was to 
form a formidable multilateral grouping that has striking convergence of interests at the global level by reducing 
the US and EU geo‐political dominance and economic hegemony.1st summit held at Russian city of Yekaterinburg 
in June 2009 

2. Need for Establishment of BRICS: 

i.Capitalise on the growing economic significance of these emerging economies. 

ii.Weaken the dominance of US dollar in the global market. 

iii. Provide an environment conducive for economic collaboration. 

3. Creation of New Development Bank: 

i. Was formally inaugurated during the BRICS Summit, which was held at Fortaleza, Brazil in 2014. The first 
President of the Bank is from India, Mr KV Kamath. Shanghai in China is the Headquarters of NBD. 
ii. All five member states had contributed $10 billion each to accumulate a capital of $50 billion, initially. The same 
is planned to be increased to $100 billion over a period of time. 

iii. The Bank’s primary focus is to lend funds to the member nations for infrastructure development projects with a 
limit of $ 34 billion, annually. 

4. The BRICS Summit is held annually and hosted  by one of the five nations. Ninth BRICS Summit was held in 
Xiamen, China on 03‐05 September 2017.The 2 highlights are Firstly, the BRICS declaration named the terrorist 
groups, including the Lashkar‐e‐Taiba, the Jaish‐e‐Mohammad, the Taliban, the Haqqani Network and the East 
Turkistan Islamic Movement for causing violence in the region. Secondly, the BRICS Summit provided an 
opportunity to the two leaders to mend the fence and clear the air on the military standoff  in Doklam. 

5. Chinese workers associated with the CPEC and those employed in the development of the Gwadar port are 
being often targeted by deadly groups, like Lashkar‐e‐Jhangvi al‐Alami in Balochistan, Pakistan. Biggest gain for 
India in the change of China’s stance on the terrorism issue, coupled with US President Donald Trump’s recent 
statement ‘rebuked Islamabad for harbouring these terror groups on its soil’ will put tremendous additional 
pressure on Pakistan. 

10TH BRICS SUMMIT planned at Johannesburg, South Africa on 25‐27 July 2018 

LEC. TOPIC 32: British exit (BREXIT) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The British(UK) considered decision to exit from the European Union is being commonly referred to as BREXIT. 
European Economic Community (EEC), was created by the Treaty of Rome in 1957. The aim  to bring about 
economic integration amongst its member states. In 1993, renamed the EEC as the European Union (EU) to 
indicate that it covered a wider range of aspects, rather than just economic policy. 

2. Article50 is a plan for any country that wishes to exit the EU to do so. It was created as part of the Treaty of 
Lisbon ‐ an agreement signed up to by all EU states which became law in 2009. Article 50 is triggered on 29 March 
2017, the UK will have two years to negotiate its withdrawal from the EU   i.e., 29 March 2019. Scotland and 
Northern Ireland to leave EU will cause a serious risk to the unity of the UK. 

3. Outcome of  BREXIT: 

i. Would create more jobs and that small to medium‐sized companies who trade domestically would be the biggest 
beneficiaries. 

ii. 3.2 million EU citizens in the UK similarly UK citizens in the EU will also retain their current rights 

iii. A cut‐off date of Brexit day ‐ 29 March 2019. Babies born after that date to people who have qualified under 
these rules will be included in the agreement. Under the plan EU citizens in UK and UK citizens in EU will be able to 
leave for up to five years before losing the rights they will have as part of the proposed Brexit deal. 

4. The EU wants the UK to settle any outstanding bills before it leaves. UK sources say it will be up to £40bn, but 
some EU sources expect it to be higher than that. The UK  is likely to see many road blocks on its way to 
negotiations for Brexit because Northern Ireland  has projected serious reservations towards Brexit. 
5. It is believed that Brexit, may have some positive implications for India. Existing from EU will compel UK to 
develop closer bilateral economic ties and Free Trade Agreements with emerging economies of Asia, like India and 
China.UK is believed to be relatively more flexible and commercially open when compared with the highly 
regulated EU. 

LEC. TOPIC 33: G20 SUMMIT 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. G20 is a forum for “international economic cooperation amongst 20 major developed and developing 
economies of the world. A forum for finance ministers and central bank governors who met once a year, to discuss 
international economic issues”. The G20 was formally launched in 2008 in the USA.The G20 includes 19 individual 
countries, i.e. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South 
Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK and the USA and EU. 

2. The G20 economies account for around 85 per cent of the GDP, 80 per cent of world trade and two‐thirds of the 
world population. The G20 has no permanent secretariat, and much of the preparation for the summit is 
completed by G20 leader’s personal representatives, known as “Sherpa’s”. Sherpa’s maintain contact with each 
other over the course of the year to discuss agenda items for the summit and coordinate the work of the G20. 

3. The 12th G20 Summit held on July 7‐8, 2017  in Hamburg, a major port city in northern Germany. The agenda 
include economic and financial policy, climate, trade, employment and development. Migration and refugee flows 
, counterterrorism will be high on agenda in the wake of the recent deadly attacks in the UK and France. 

4. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has set “Shaping an Interconnected World” as the theme of 
this year’s summit. That encompasses three aims – strengthening economic resilience, improving sustainability and 
assuming responsibilities. 

5. Highlights of  12th G20 Summit: 

i. Merkel has said that European leaders should put on a united front against Trump US out of the Paris climate 
agreement, because The US  has previously called global warming a hoax. 

ii. US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has warned that the US would use military force to stop North Korea 
from developing the capability to strike another country with nuclear weapons 

iii. Trump v Putin the first face‐to‐face meeting since Trump’s election. During his election campaign, Trump 
publicly praised Putin, while the Russian president has also described the US leader as “colourful and talented”. 

upcoming G20 summit 2018 on March 19 & 20, 2018  at Buenos Aires, in Argentina 

LEC. TOPIC 34: ISIS 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. Syria had been under the ultimate authority of the Ottoman administration for more than 400 years. 
Geographically, Syria consisted of a number of Ottoman divisions, currently comprising Jordan, Israel/Palestine, 
Lebanon and Syria. World War I witnessed the defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. 
2. Iraq is a Shia dominated country and frequent sectarian conflicts between Iraqi Shias and Sunnis during the Iraq 
War sponsored by USA. Consequent to the Iraq War, the democratically elected Shia Government, under Iraqi PM 
Nouri al‐Maliki. ISIS(Islamic State of Iraq and Syria also known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)) started 
on 29 June 2014, Abu Bakar al‐Baghdadi was named as its caliph(chief Muslim ruler) ISIS’s original aim was to 
establish a caliphate(Muslim rule) in the Sunni‐majority regions of Iraq. 

3. ISIS also generates revenue from producing crude oil and selling electric power in northern Syria, receiving funds 
from private donors in the Gulf States, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, US$429 million looted from Mosul's central 
bank. ISIS assets worth US$2 billion, making it the richest jihadist group in the world. ISIS strengthen its military 
capability by capturing large quantities and varieties of weaponry during the Syrian Civil War and Post‐U.S. Iraq 
insurgency. 

4. On june 2017  Iraqi  PM Haider al‐Abadi said Islamic State’s “state of falsehood” has come to an end, after his 

troops captured the wrecked historic mosque of Mosul, from where Abu Bakr al‐Baghdadi declared himself 
“Caliph” three years ago. At least 75% of ISIS fighters have been killed since the US‐led coalition launched airstrikes 
in Iraq and Syria, according to US estimates. 

5. ISIS attacks around the world: 

i. The countries where ISIS conducted attacks are Iraq, Belgium,  Australia, Canada, USA, France, UAE, Egypt, Syria, 
Libya, Bangladesh, Germany & Pak 

ii. Suicide bombings of two Shi'a mosques in Sana'a & paris attack Shootings, suicide bombings, grenade, hostage 
taking has killed more than 600 people & injured more than 1000 

iii. Estimation of death(D) & injury(I) as per years by ISIS attack : 2014 is 1041(D) & +2221(I), 2015 is 1020(D) & 
+2171(I) , 2016 is 1456(D) & +3505(I), 2017 is 1518(D) & +7487(I), 2018  is 124(D) & +272(I) as of  now. 

LEC. TOPIC 35: COMMON WEALTH GAMES(CWG) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. In 1930 British Empire Games has started  known as the Commonwealth Games, and were held in Hamilton, in 
Canada from August 16–23, 1930. Eleven countries sent a total of 400 athletes to the Hamilton Games. The 
Hamilton Games featured six sports: athletics, boxing, lawn bowls, rowing, swimming and diving and wrestling and 
ran at a cost of $97,973.CWG headquqrters at London. 

2. Commonwealth Games taken place every four years since then with the exception of 1942 and 1946, which 
were cancelled due to the II World War. The games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). 
Only six countries have attended every CW Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales. 
Australia has been the highest achieving team for twelve games, England for seven, and Canada for one. 

3. A t presently CWG are conducting “19 sports game‐ Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, 
Boxing, Cycling – Track, Road, Mountain Bike, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Netball , Rugby 7s, Shooting, 
Squash, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Weightlifting, Wrestling”. There are “53 members of Nations, 71 teams participate 
in the Commonwealth Games, as a number of dependent territories compete under their own flags. The four  
Home Nations of the UK—England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland—also send separate teams”. 
 4. XXI Commonwealth Games 2018 Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018.India finished 
third in the medals tally at the with 66 medals (26 Gold, 20 Silver and 20 Bronze, behind Australia (80) and England 
(45). Best showing in the history of the Games. India's best remains 101 in New Delhi (2010), followed by 69 in 
Manchester (2002) CW games. India's maximum medals came from shooting (16), followed by wrestling (12) and 
weightlifting (9). 

5. Commonwealth Games includes Commonwealth Paraplegic Games, Commonwealth Winter Games & 
Commonwealth Youth Games. XXII Commonwealth Games 2022 Birmingham, England going to conduct. 

LEC. TOPIC 36: SC CRISIS 

“Justice B.H. Loya’s death  & Demand for Impeachment of Chief Justice of India” 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. On 12 January 2018  “four senior most judges of the Supreme Court(SC) had called for a press conference to 
bring out certain administrative improprieties of the Apex Court into the public domain”. Judges are Hon'ble Mr. 
Justice Dipak Misra, Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Bhimarao Lokur(There are currently 24 judges, 
against a max. possible strength of 31, as per the Constitution of India, SC  judges retire at age 65. Justice Dipak 
Misra is the current and 45th Chief Justice of India.) 

2. Judges said Reason 1: (Judge Loya Case) The CBI had alleged that Amit Shah, as Home Minister of Gujarat, 
“ordered the extra‐judicial killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, a petty criminal in Gujarat”. His wife and their friend 
were a witness to Sheikh's killing in 2005. case was being handled in the CBI Court by the Mumbai Judge BH Loya. 
His family alleges that “Judge Loya refused an offer of Rs 100 crores as a bribe to rule in favour of the BJP chief” & 
a few days after that he mysteriously died of a cardiac arrest. 

3. Justice Arun Misra judge who replaced in the Sohrabuddin case & B H Loya death case “discharged Amit Shah & 
BJP”. Hon'ble Justice Dipak Misra said Justice Arun Misra had close relations with BJP and was said to be a 
‘henchman’ he should not hear the case. So CJI assigns the judges to various benches depending upon the case and 
the domain expertise in dealing with such cases. 

4. Judges said Reason 2: National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) is a constitutional body, which was 
proposed to replace the present Collegiums’ system of appointment and transfer of judges. The NJAC Act came 
into force with effect from 13 April 2015. Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) is a document which guides the 
appointment of judges to the SC and the 24 HC. At present, there are two MoPs; one for the Supreme Court and 
the other for the High Courts. 

5. The SC finalized the MoP and sent it to the govt, Govt did not respond to the MoP, means by the executive to 
delay and derail the appointment of judges for some ulterior motives. At present, the High Courts’ nationwide are 
facing a shortfall of 37% of their approved strength. Consequently, there is a pendency of 4.2 million cases in the 
High Courts and 55259 cases in the Supreme Court, which is functioning with 24 judges as against the authorized 
strength of 31. 
LEC. TOPIC 38: Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2018 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. According to National Crime Records Bureau( NCRB) for 2017, by over 82% compared to 2016, 19.765 cases of 
rape were registered across the country under section 376. National Law University, Delhi (NLU) interviewed 373 
of the 385 prisoners in India study showed that 23% of convicts never attended school, 9.6% did not complete 
primary school education and 6.6% had not completed their secondary school education, 74% on death row, are 
economically vulnerable. 

2. In 2016, of the 64,138 child rape cases that came up before the courts under POSCO(protection of Children from 
Sexual Offences), read with IPC sections 376, 1869 cases— or less than 3%— ended in convictions. Moreover, it  
has been observed that in over 94% cases the offender was known to the victim— he was either a close family 
member, a neighbor. This will lead to the crime being suppressed and the victim being left completely helpless. 

3. India has witnessed a spate of kidnapping, rape and  murder of minor girls. The Kathua incident has shaken the 
moral fibre of our society, causing a mass uproar and media outburst. As a result Union Cabinet, on 21 April 2018, 
approves the promulgation of the Criminal Law  Amendment Ordinance, 2018, which allow courts to award death 
penalty to those convicted of raping children below 12 years of age. 

4&5. Features Of Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2018: 

i. The heinous crimes committed against minor girls like a minimum of 20 years of rigorous imprisonment or 
imprisonment for rest of life and the maximum punishment of death. Minimum punishment, in case of rape of 
women, has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of 7 years to 10 years, "extendable to life imprisonment”. 

ii. In case of gang rape of a girl below 12 years, the minimum punishment will be imprisonment for the rest of the 
life and the maximum,death sentence. 

iii. Minimum punishment for rape of a child under 16 years of age from 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to 20 
years, extendable to ‘rest of life’. The punishment for gang rape of a girl under 16 will invite punishment of 
imprisonment for the “ rest of life”. 

iv. Ordinance also disallows anticipatory bail for those accused of rape of gang rape of a child under 16.”It has been 
provided that court has to give a notice of 15 days to the public prosecutor and the representative of the victim 
before deciding bail applications in case of rape of a girl under 16 years of age” 

LEC. TOPIC 39: BULLET TRAIN 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The most exciting " flagship Project" is Bullet Train, connecting Ahmadabad  and Mumbai( 508 Km).The project 
was being made possible by a loan from Japan of Rs 88,000 crore at a 0.1% interest, to be repaid over 50 years. 
Japan is financing 81% of this mega project ( 1.8 lakh crore), to be completed in 2022‐23, to coincide with our 70 
years of independence. 

2. The Bullet Train will take 2.07 hours to cover the distance at a maximum speed of 350 km / hrs with four halts. 
Abe announced that Kawasaki Heavy Industries and India's BHEL will together manufacture rolling stock for the 
bullet train project. There are around 47‐54 flights are available between  Ahmadabad  and Mumbai  in the 
average cost of  Rs.1200‐ 2200, travel time take 1.10 hrs. Officials revealed the fares for the bullet train, which are 
likely to be 1.5 times higher than that of a first class AC local(Rs.1640). 

3. The soft loan is given by Japan only for promoting its own Shinkansen Technology of Bullet trains and not for any 
other socially oriented developmental schemes. Hence this loan advancement can't be diverted for any other 
purposes. In 1970s, when the country was actually poor, the government took initiative to bring 'Maruti Suzuki 
automobile technology' from Japan, amidst lot of criticism, but proved to usher an automobile revolution in the 
country. Similar would be the case of Bullet train. 

4. It is common knowledge that India still is a developing country with yawning problems of poverty, illiteracy and 
unemployment. The issue invites a debate whether "Bullet Train Project" merits such priority in an emerging India, 
when our  present Indian railways are in an obsolete state, and needs immediate revamping and  modernisation 
keeping passenger's safety in mind It is notable every month especially in the state of  UP minimum of two 
accidents happening. 

5. It's heartening to see that both Asian powers are teaming up to stand against the Red Dragon, voicing similar 
concern about current issues like North Korea's nuclear programme, Pakistan based terror groups and China's 
"One Belt One Road" mega project. 

LEC. TOPIC 40: BAN ON BEEF 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. It has been a regular practice over the years that meat ban was always imposed on the days of religious events 
of Hindus and Jains, like Hanuman Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti, first and last days of Paryushan Parva and Ram Navami, 
and also on national holidays like Gandhi Jayanti, Independence Day and Republic Day. Vishva Hindu Parishad   
(VHP) and the Sangh Pariwar has demanded complete ban on eating of beef, as they feel that cow is the centre of 
the Hindu faith. 

2. Article 48 of the Constitution of India “mandates the states to prohibit the slaughter of cows and calves and 
other milch and draught cattle”. Prohibition of cow slaughter is a Directive Principles of the State Policy contained 
in Article 48 of the Constitution. "fit‐for‐slaughter" certificate which may be issued depending on factors like 
age(over 14 years of age) and gender of cattle, continued economic viability etc. 

3. It needs to be understood that the ban on cow slaughter exists in most of the states since the previous many 
decades. However, the Hindutav agenda of the Modi government and its RSS connection is being slammed with  
the meat ban policy. The controversy started when ohammad Akhlaq, a 50 year old man was beaten to death by 
residents of village Bisara, in UP over rumours about the family storing and consuming beef. In India every year the 
cow violence ends the life of many Muslim’s & Dalit’s. 

4. A total of 24 states out of the 29 states of India have enacted various regulations restraining the slaughter of 
cows. There is no restriction on cow slaughter in the states of Kerala, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, 
Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim with restrictions like a "fit‐for‐slaughter" certificate. Banning beef will not only affect 
the meat industry, where India is one of the largest exporters, but also other allied industries like tanneries, where 
India exports nearly Rs 20000 crores of leather yearly. 
5. Statistics about meat production in India: 

i. Ranks “fifth” in the world in beef production. 

ii. Ranks “seventh” in the world in domestic consumption. 

iii. Ranks “first” in the world in exporting beef. Though, most of the beef exported by India is of Water Buffalos”. 

The option of eating beef (prohibited by Hinduism) or pork (prohibited by Islam) or being a vegetarian must be 
individual choices and the government or the religious clergy must not issue their dictates on the subject. 

LEC. TOPIC 41: The Korean War 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. Korea was under the control of the Japanese empire after a long integration process that began with the Japan‐ 
Korea Treaty of 1876. After the events of World War II, however, Japan’s imperial possessions were forfeited. The 
USA and the USSR eventually opted to split the peninsula Korea rested on along the “38th parallel(Horizontal line 
dividing the korea)”. The USSR would handle the north, and the USA would take of the south  korea. 

2. South Korea “dictator Syngman Rhee the anti‐communist” (1875‐1965) enjoyed the reluctant support of the 
American government;  the north korea “ dictator Kim Il Sung  the communist” (1912‐1994) enjoyed the slightly 
more enthusiastic support of the Soviets. Border skirmishes were common in 38th parallel. Nearly 10,000 North 
and South Korean soldiers were killed in battle before the war even began. 

3. USSR pushed North Korean army to cross the 38th Parallel into Seoul ( South Korean capital), the USA readied its 
troops for a war against communism itself. US General MacArthur crushed the North Korean army in a pincer 
movement and recaptured Seoul MacArthur crossed the 38TH Parallel.tthe People's Republic of China secretly sent 
an army across the Yalu River. This Chinese army attacked the US/UN/ROK forces. 

4. USA President Truman hoped  to end the war quickly and pressed MacArthur to be more tactful, the brilliant 
strategist went against presidential orders. MacArthur was perceived as a popular war hero. MacArthur started 
peace talks at Panmunjom. Both sides were willing to accept a ceasefire that maintained the 38th parallel 
boundary, but they could not agree on whether prisoners of war should be forcibly “repatriated.” (The Chinese and 
the North Koreans said yes; the United States said no.) 

5. Finally after more than two years of negotiations, the “adversaries signed an armistice” on July 27, 1953. 
Casualties of war  Nearly 5 million people had died: 2 million Korean civilians; 1.5 million communist forces; 
400,000 South Korean soldiers; 40,000 U.S. troops (plus over 100,000 wounded); and many more. 

LEC. TOPIC 42: Korean Peace Treaty Agreement 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The world powers used Korean Peninsula as a chess board during Cold War era, for one‐up‐man‐ship. The 
Peninsula was a frontline theatre in the conflict between the Capitalism(USA) Vs Communism(USSR& China) fought 
a pitched battle in the Korean Peninsula during 1950‐ 53.After the Cold War era, the US, China, Russia and Japan 
have played an active role in promoting “peace” in the region, through the framework of  6 party dialogue  
involving the two Koreas. 
2. It’s been almost 70 years, but the Korean DMZ(demilitarized zone) is still patrolled by troops and guarded with 
mines and artillery. Important landmark in the history on April 27, 2018, the leaders of North and South Korea met 
and agreed to sign a formal “a nuclear ‐ free Korean Peninsula “and “complete denuclearization “as a common  
goal of the two Koreas by the end of the year. The Korean War could be finally over by 2019. Kim Jong‐Un, the 
leader of North Korea, crossed the DMZ into South Korea to speak with South Korean President Moon Jae‐In in an 
unprecedented summit in Panmunjom(village on south korea border.). 

3. South Korean President said it was partially thanks to President Trump. It seems the pressure the Trump 
administration has been putting on North Korea with international sanctions and threats of military action helped 
open up a dialogue between the two Korean  governments. 

4. On 30 April 2018, Kim appeared to hedge his bet, indicating that denuclearizing his country could be a long 
process that required multiple rounds of negotiations and steps to build trust. But he laid out a vague idea of what 
his impoverished country would demand in return for giving up its nuclear weapons.   “If we meet often and build 
trust with US and if an end to the war and nonaggression are promised, why we would live in difficulty with  
nuclear weapons” Kim quipped. 

5. Moon also spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to convey Kim’s willingness to also open dialogue 
with Tokyo, which has also felt threatened by the North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development. The 
peacemaking comments have been a dramatic turnaround for Kim, who drove the peninsula close to the brink to a 
nuclear holocaust, by a show of strength to the world. 

LEC. TOPIC 43: BORDERS OF INDIA 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. There are 7 countries that India shares its borders Countries from east to west are Myanmar(Naypyidaw,Kyat), 
Bangladesh(Dhaka,Takka), Bhutan(Thimphu,Rupee), Nepal(Kathmandu,Nepal rupee), China(Beijing, Renmidi), 
Afghanistan (Kabul, Afghani. only official claim, current POK) and Pakistan(Islamabad, Pak. rupee). 

2. India and Pakistan gained Independence from Britain in 1947, and Kashmir became a part of India. Later in 1949, 
a mutual agreed ceasefire line was drawn in order to resolve the dispute of India and Pakistan over Kashmir. In 
1972, after the Simla Agreement, the two ends agreed for “Line of Control”(LOC nearly 700km long). It measures 
about 35 percent of Kashmir. Rest 20 percent of the area is controlled by China. It is known as Aksai Chin. 

3. Effective border between china and India “Line of Actual Control”(LAC)  is the effective military border which 
separates Indian controlled areas of Jammu and Kashmir from Aksai Chin. nearly 4,057 km long. It touches  J&K, 
Uttarakhand, Himanchal and Sikkim. LAC has been a sensitive issue just like LOC. In 1962, a brief war had killed 
more than 2000 people. LAC got legally recognized during Sino‐Indian agreements which were signed in 1993 and 
1996. 

4. Johnson line & McMohan Line: 

i. In 1865, W. H. Johnson, a civil servant with the Survey of India proposed the "Johnson Line", which put Aksai Chin 
in Kashmir. Although Chinese never accepted this line 

ii. In 1913 Shimla agreement  regarding the borders between Tibet, China and British India. British Indian Lt. 

Colonel Henry McMahon, who had drawn up the proposal, decided to bypass the Chinese and settle the border 
bilaterally by negotiating directly with Tibet. All three representatives initialed the agreement, Beijing later 
objected to the proposed boundary between the regions of Outer Tibet and Inner Tibet, and did not ratify it. 

5. Bangladesh and India share a 4,096‐kilometer adjoins Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya & West Bengal. 
Bhutan‐India Border is 699 km long adjoins Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal & Sikkim. Palk Strait ‐ water 
body separating India and Srilanka adjoins Tamilnadu. India–Myanmar share 1,624‐kilometer adjoins Arunachal 
Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur. India‐Nepal share 1751 kms adjoins Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, 
West Bengal, and Sikkim. 

LEC. TOPIC 44: IAF Futuristic Critical Force Level 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. The impending retirement of 11 squadrons of Soviet ‐ era MiG‐21, and MiG ‐27 fighter jets can tilt the ‘air 
superiority’, in favour of Pakistan Air Force(PAF) and the more deadly ”Peoples’ Liberation Army Air Force ( 
PLAAF).MiG‐21, especially, has exceeded its shelf‐life long back, but always refurbished to press it back in service. 

2. IAF paid dearly for this ‘ trouble shooting’ by intermittent MiG‐21 crashes, mostly due to metal fatigue and 
frequent mechanical faults. As it’s numbers dwindle to less than 600 fighters, once these MiGs are de‐ 
commissioned, the PAF  has 400 sophisticated fighter jets & rapidly modernising PLAAF which boasts of, over 1500 
fighter jets, including a core of 600 fourth‐ generation fighter jets.  ”All three tiers of the IAF’s Air/ Defence multi‐ 
role‐Force — the light, medium, and heavy components — are in trouble”. 

3. On 6th April 2018, MOD issued Request for Information( RFI) to six global manufacturers for 110 fighters worth 
$20 Billions ( Rs 1.25 lakh crore or nearly half the annual defence budget). This is the largest ever defence deal 
India has made so far. The delay happened in the indigenous Tejas LCA project and the alarming drop in fighter 
squadron numbers because Tejas LCA aimed to replace all the MiG‐21s 

4. This proposed tender this time around, are the same as before. Besides France’s Rafale, there is Russia’s MiG‐35, 
F‐16 Block 70, Boeing F/A‐18 and the Eurofighter Typhoon. The victorious firm will build the aircraft in   
collaboration with an Indian partner under the MoD’s “Strategic Partnership Policy” notified last year. 

5. Even this purchase couldn’t assuage the IAF’s worries. Unfortunately the contest for the 126 jet fighters order 
was scrapped. The new fighter jet tender now floated, is highly critical for the IAF to achieve its goal of 42 fighter 
squadrons by 2027. The $20 Billion price tag, spreads over the 12 years of the life of this contract. 

LEC. TOPIC 45: Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. FATF is an inter‐governmental body that was established in 1989 by a Group of Seven (G‐7) Summit in Paris its 
mandate to incorporate efforts to combat terrorist financing, in addition to money laundering. The FATF currently 
comprises 35 member jurisdictions representing most major financial centres in all parts of the globe. Israel and 
Saudi Arabia are observer countries. FATF holds meetings three times in a year to monitor progress on 
implementation of its recommendations and also to issue new recommendations, if and when required. 

2. Objectives of FATF: 

i. Set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for 
combating money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 
ii. FATF works to identify national‐level vulnerabilities with the aim of protecting the international financial system 
from misuse. 

iii. Review new techniques of money laundering and terrorist financing being adopted by rouge nations/ 
organisations and put into place appropriate counter‐measures. 

3. FATF held its Plenary Meeting in Paris from 21 February to 23 February 2018. U.S, U.K., Germany and France 
place Pakistan on the “grey list” of nations with inadequate terrorist financing or money laundering controls. 
China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries objected to Pakistan’s nomination 

4. “Talibanisation of Pakistan” is being majorly supported by drug money from Afghanistan & Saudi Arabia for the 
spread of Wahhabism China’s eventual decision to withdraw its support at FATF. Beijing remains apprehensive of 
Pakistan’s efforts to establish peace in Balochistan, where $60 billion worth of infrastructure projects it is financing 
as part of the China‐Pakistan Economic Corridor . 

5. Advantage India: 

i. Reduced terror funding and funding for purchase of military hardware is likely to abate cross border firing and 
terrorism related incidents in the state of J&K. 

ii. Stable Pakistan, where the spread of fundamentalism and Wahhabism is being checked will provide innate 
security to India’s interests. 

LEC. TOPIC 46: Sting Operation 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. A sting operation is a "deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime". Sting operations 
have been part of the modern police response to crime for years. Sting Operations are undertook with a view to 
look into the working of the govt. or to see whether the acts of any individual is against the public order. 

2. Sting Operations can be classified as positive and negative: 

i. Positive sting operation society is benefited because it makes government responsible and accountable. It leads 
to the transparency in the government. 

ii. Negative sting operations do not benefit the society, but they do harm the society and its individuals. It 
unnecessarily violates the privacy of the individual without any beneficial results to the society. 

3. Now days, private T.V. channels and other forms of information media perform entertainment sting operation  
to increase their TRP rating which is definitely objectionable. Right to the freedom of press under Article 19(l)(a) of 
the Constitution of India is not an unlimited privilege for its own sake. It is a limited right to be exercised for public 
welfare. 

4. The liberty of the press is included in the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1) (a).  Freedom of 
press started with dissemination of relevant information about public affairs but nowadays, news is all about 
entertainment and to gain better viewership. 

5. Channels sometimes overstep the demarcation that separates the legally permissible from the illegal. In sting 
operations, the person being filmed is unaware of the presence of a hidden camera. The right to privacy is thus 
breached.Right to privacy is an important issue involved with sting operations, its all about maintaining the 
delicate balance between right to privacy and freedom of press. 

LEC. TOPIC 47: Internal Security In India 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. India’s ‘unity in diversity’ is perhaps also the reasons for an infinite spectrum of internal security challenges.core 
issue that is leading to violence and anarchy is the disproportionate increase in population,unethical 
scrambling,law enforcement are ill equipped, ill trained and have limited 

2&3. Internal Security Challenges: 

i. Naxalism was a moment by communist China spread across 13‐14 states of our country. 

ii. Pakistan sponsored cross border terrorism ’ to bleed India from a hundred cuts’. 

iii. Insurgency in NE States Certain states like Nagaland wanted to be completely Independent, while original 
inhabitants of most states, including Assam and Manipur demanded for greater autonomy. 

iv. Other forms of internal security challenges are communal riots, cyber warfare, Fake currency, Drugs, criminal 
injustice, Natural & Manmade disaster. 

4. Organisation to Tackle Internal Security Challenges are Police forces, CBI, Paramilitary, National Security Council 
(NSC), National Investigation Agency (NIA). 

5.Way To Tackle Internal Security Problems: 

i. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) through training, provision of state of art equipment and 
better selection process of manpower for National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF). 

ii. Police Reforms still being governed under Police Act of 1861,draft prepared by the Drafting Committee in 2006 
has still not been approved and promulgated. 

State forces should be made more effective through better training, equipment, motivation and incentivising their 
deeds. 

iii. Ensure Better Civil Rights through proper and prompt implementation of legislations and laws like the, Land 
Acquisition Act, Whistle Blower’s Act, Domestic Violence Act, etc. 

LEC. TOPIC 48: US ‐IRAN NUCLEAR AGREEMENT 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the ‘Shah of Iran’ right from 1940s maintained a close relationship with the 
government of USA. Both regimes shared an opposition to the expansion of the Soviet Union.Ayatollah Ruhollah 
Khomeini revolted against the autocratic rule of the Shah of Iran, popularly known as the Islamic Revolution in 
1979. 

2. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, was replaced by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 
revolution.Khomeini opposed the nuclear programme in the country and called it anti Islamic.In 1984 Khomeini 
expressed a renewed Iranian interest in nuclear power, seeking the assistance of international partners to 
complete construction at Bushehr. 

3. Late 1980s and early 1990s Iran signed long‐term nuclear cooperation agreements with Pakistan, China and 
Russia in 1987, 1990 and 1992 respectively.late 1990s Iran was suspected to be using its civilian nuclear program  
as a cover up for clandestine weapons development, US government actively pressured to limit nuclear 
cooperation with Iran.As a result, China did not ultimately supply Iran with the research reactor or the uranium.US 
blocked Iran's agreement. 

4. July 2015, a landmark ‘Nuclear Agreement’ was signed between Iran and six world powers (US, Germany, 
France, UK, China and Russia), as per which, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities for more than a 
decade.On 16 January 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after due verification, announced that 
Iran had restricted its sensitive nuclear activities 

5. Reasons for the US out from the Iran Nuclear Agreement: 

i. Sunni‐ruled Gulf states have been viewing the Nuclear Agreement and the lifting of sanctions as a threat West is 
getting closer to Tehran, which actually fans their fears about Iran becoming even more daring in its interventions  
in the conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. The pro‐Iranian , the Iraqi government, Hezbollah supported by Russia and 
the anti‐Iranian camp, comprised primarily of Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE are being supported 
by the US."scrapping of the Nuclear Agreement by the US is a strong signal to the pro‐Iranian camp, including  
Russia about the delineation of the opposing sides in this battle space." 

ii. Iran is a major supplier of global crude oil.USA has the largest reserves of Shale oil in the world. Shale oil as a 
substitute for conventional crude oil."Artificial deficiency of crude oil, if created by keeping Iranian oil out of the 
global market, introduction of Shale oil as a substitute into the global market may be the biggest game‐changer for 
the US". 

LEC. TOPIC 49: RTI Act 2005 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. Right to information (RTI) act is a mandate timely response to citizen request for govt &  Non‐govt information. 
It applies to all state & union territory of India. Except the state of J&K which is covered under state level law. 

2. Under this act any citizen may request to public authority, which reply within 48hrs‐30 days. Public authority 
need to give copy in the form of a document or video or electronic file. 

3. One wishes to file RTI should take a DD to the accounts officer of Ministry of personal, public grievance, pension 
dept. The Amount of DD various according to the organisation. 

4. RTI improves the transparency between people & govt which helps in reducing corruption 

5. There are many violation cases against those files RTI such as murder & Physical harms. Human right 
commission ordered to "file an FIR against those who the RTI was filed". 
LEC. TOPIC 50: AFSPA 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. Armed Forces Special Powers Act‐1958 a special powers on the Armed Forces operating in the areas declared as 
‘disturbed’, under the provisions of Article 355 of the Constitution, to protect every State against internal 
disturbance. Act which has just six sections and was enacted to bestow certain. 

2&3.AFSPA Special Powers: 

i.After giving such due warning, fire upon person who is acting against law 

ii. Destroy any shelter or training camp from which armed attacks are made by the armed  gangs wanted for any 

offence. 

iii. To arrest without a warrant anyone who has committed cognizable offences. 

iv.rmy officers have legal immunity for their actions. There can be no prosecution, suit or any other legal 
proceeding against anyone acting under that law. 

v. To enter and search any premise & Stop and search any vehicle. 

4. Reason for the formation of AFSPA.Prior to the creation of NE states, 99% of the Naga people had opted for 
‘Free and Sovereign Naga Nation’. They boycotted 1952 general elections and also boycotted government schools 
and officials.Assam Rifles was deployed and in the Naga Hills and Assam Disturbed Areas Act of 1955,But the 
Assam Rifles and the state armed police could not contain the Naga rebellion. Finally, the Armed Forces Special 
Powers Ordinance 1958 was promulgated by the President, Dr Rajendra Prasad on 22 May 1958. 

5. Many NGOs, human rights organisations, UNO find the AFSPA to grossly violate the international laws on human 
rights and its enforcement is considered to result in arbitrary killings, torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading 
treatment of the subjects. However, the commanders of the troops deployed on the ground feel that the Act is 
highly essential for the proper conduct of operations to counter the menace of terrorism. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LEC. TOPIC 51: Non‐Proliferation Treaty (NPT) And Comprehensive Nuclear‐Test‐Ban Treaty (CTBT) 

TOP 5 POINTS: 

1. NPT entered into force in 1970.A total of 191 states have joined the Treaty, North Korea which has initially 
acceded to NPT, announced its withdrawal in 2003. Four UN member states never joined the NPT: India, Israel, 
Pakistan and Sudan. 

2. Objectives of NPT is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote 
cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament. 

3. As per the provisions of the NPT, non‐nuclear weapon states were prohibited from manufacturing or acquiring 
nuclear weapons. All signatories, including nuclear weapon states, were committed to the goal of total nuclear 
disarmament 
4. Comprehensive Nuclear‐Test‐Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty by which states agree to ban all nuclear 
explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 
September 1996.It has been signed by 71 states. 

The states that have not ratified the treaty are as under. China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United States have 
signed but not ratified the Treaty; India, North Korea and Pakistan have not signed it. 

5. Argument that India gives for not signing the NPT or the CTBT is that these treaties creates a club of "nuclear 
haves" and a larger group of "nuclear have‐nots" by restricting the legal possession of nuclear weapons to those 
states that tested them before 1967, but the treaties never explains on what ethical grounds such a distinction is 
valid.India's then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said "If India did not sign the NPT, it is not because of 
its lack of commitment for non‐proliferation, but because we consider NPT as a flawed treaty and it did not 
recognize the need for universal, non‐discriminatory verification and treatment." 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LEC. TOPIC 52: US-NORTH KOREAN RELATIONS
TOP 5 POINTS:

1. After the events of World War II, The USA and the USSR eventually opted to split the peninsula Korea
rested on along the “38th parallel(Horizontal line dividing the korea)”. The USSR would handle the North,
and the USA would take of the South korea. After the Korean war(1950-53) Armistice was signed on July
27, 1953, and was designed to "ensure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in
Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved." In January 1957 the U.S National Security Council
considered the stock piling of nuclear weapons in South Korea. However, paragraph 13(d) of the 'Korean
Armistice Agreement' mandated that both sides should not introduce new types of weapons into Korea.
U.S. decided to unilaterally abrogate paragraph 13(d), breaking the Armistice Agreement.

2. In January 1958 nuclear armed 'Honest John Missile system' and 280 mm Nuclear Cannons were
deployed in South Korea. An year later, US added nuclear armed 'Matador Cruise Missiles' with the range
to reach China and the Soviet Union, to its stockpile in South Korea. North Korea responded militarily by
digging massive underground fortifications & asked the Russia for help in developing nuclear weapons, but
was refused. However, instead the Russia agreed to help North Korea to develop a peaceful nuclear energy
program, including the training of nuclear scientists. China covertly helped their nuclear weapon program.

3. US-North Korea talks began in June 1993, 'U.S.-North Korea Agreed Frame work' in October 1994.The
high lights were:-
i. North Korea agreed to freeze its existing plutonium enrichment program.
ii. Both sides agreed to cooperate to replace North Korea's graphite-moderated reactors with Light Water
Reactor (LWR) power plants.
iii. Both sides agreed to work together to strengthen the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.
However the Agreement was flawed.

4. In May 1998, North Korea warned it would restart nuclear research if the U.S. could not install the LWR.
In December 1999, Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organisation (KEDO) and South Korea Electric
Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed the contract permitting full scale construction of the LWRs. Soon the
relationship between South and North Korea deteriorated and all nuclear related projects suffered and got
stalled.

5. Following the April 3, 2017 American missile strike in Syria in response to Basher's chemical weapon
attack on civilians ,tensions had mounted as U.S further military options against North Korea's ballistic
missile program. North Korean government stated "its readiness to declare war on the United States if
North Korea has test-fired a ballistic missile on 29 April,2017. Pyongyang test fires a long-range missile
into the Sea of Japan. China announces it plans to implement the UN sanctions against North Korea agreed
earlier in the month, banning imports of coal, minerals and sea food. First talks in two years between North
and South Koreas begin thaw that leads to the North sending a team to the Winter Olympics in the South.
LEC. TOPIC 53: Rising oil prices in India
TOP 5 POINTS:
1.The petrol and diesel prices in Delhi from Rs 56.49 per litre and Rs 46.01 a litre, respectively in February
2015, have now touched Rs 76.87 per litre and Rs 68.08 per litre. The government had slashed excise duty
on petrol and diesel by Rs 02/litre last year and again after 2018 Union Budget by Rs 08/litre.

2. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to cut down its production with
effect from January 2017, which forced the oil prices to rise. The disruption is oil production that was being
globally contributed by major oil producing countries of the world due to various reasons like, ongoing
conflict in the Middle East, economic sanctions on Russia, re-imposition of sanctions on Iran by US and
political instability in Venezuela have begun to create an artificial scarcity of oil in the global market.

3. In order to counter this threat, oil from countries like, US, Nigeria and Libya is now reaching the global
market. US Shale Oil Availability of cheap funds and advanced directional drilling technologies has
enabled US to extract crude oil from Shale wells. US starts determining the global oil prices rather than the
OPEC.

4. India imports 82% of its oil requirements and is the third largest consumer of oil after US and China.
Economic Survey- 2018 estimates that for every increase of cost of oil by $10/barrel the corresponding
reduction in the GDP is 0.2 to 0.3% points. As per the directions of the government with effect from end
2017, it is mandatory to mix 10% Ethanol with petrol. The cost of Ethanol is just Rs 40.85/litre. However,
the consumer is paying the cost of petrol for the Ethanol mixed in it.

5. The centre and state governments would have collected when the crude oil prices during 2016 were at its
lowest around $40 per barrel for more than three consecutive years. It should have been prudent to create a
corpus during that period from which the common man could have been provided relief at this stage.
LEC. TOPIC 54: WAR AGANIST MAOISTS
(Ref. Lec topic-2)

TOP 5 POINTS:
1. Naxalism/Maoists was born 50 years ago in a village called Naxalbari in West Bengal. Reason for the
formation was inhuman exploitation of agricultural laborers by landlords who sold their land at cheap
prices. Communist China sent arms via Nepal to Naxalbari. A voice raised against injustice to the laborers
and then took up arms the first victim became landlords, and then the corrupt police and politician's, judges
were killed. 

2. India naturally became a ground of Maoist ideology basically because of the following reasons :-

i. The humiliation, untouchability and ill- treatment of scheduled caste / tribals by upper caste and powerful
land lords.

ii. Lack of education and extreme unemployment and poverty.

iii. Covert financial and arm support to fan an armed rebellion against India by China

3. At present the heart land of Maoist-affected zone is Gadchiroli(twice the size of Sikkim state),
Maharashtra, though the whole belt is affected, mainly because of its tribal population and lop- sided
development in the area. Over the past decade, over 700 Maoists have been killed in Gadchiroli and some
180 rebels have been surrendered since 2015. The latest encounters eliminated two ‘dalams’ ( groups of 10-
15 armed men) ridding Bhamragad taluka of the guerrillas.

4. C- 60 ( Gadchiroli Police’s special counter- Maoist Force) troopers picked from the best of the same
rural population in 1990. Now the force has 750 tough troopers and form a formidable fighting machine
against the trained Maoists. On the night of 23 April 2018, two parties of C-60 Force converged on an
isolated riverine island in Gadchiroli and ambushed a large gathering of Maoists converged for a
meeting.32 Maoists were killed in the shoot- out and it was a remarkable victory for the government forces.

5. Police have taken initiatives to win over the locals by building schools, water resources, dispensaries, and
holding peaceful elections to gram panchayats. Three big government hospitals have been set up in the area
and a record 66 schools up to tenth standards have been set up. As a result, Maoists are losing ground and
also losing public sympathy. “However, the most effective way to reduce the influence of Maoists on
locals, is through welfare schemes only”. The state government is directly sending Rs 200 crore to Zilla
parishads and Dist Collector plans to open more centres offering integrated health, hygiene and
communication services across the district.
LEC. TOPIC 55: FARMER AGITATION

TOP 5 POINTS:
1. Farmer organisations also called for boycott of mandis or wholesale markets in Punjab, Haryana, 
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, leading to fears of shortage and price rise.
which claim to be representing 172 farmer outfits have called for a 10 day strike by stopping all supplies to 
cities/towns from 01‐10 June 2018. This "Gaon Band' stir is being observed across 22 states. 
2. Demands of Agitating Farmers: 

i. Grant of complete loan waiver for all loans taken by farmers. Implementation of Swaminathan 
Commission Report recommendations. 

ii. Increase of Minimum Support Price, to 50% more than the comprehensive cost of inputs for production 
of crops. 

iii. Provision of a Minimum Income Guarantee Scheme, with an assurance of a minimum basic income for 
small and marginal farmers, who may not be able to sustain themselves. 

3. National Commission on Farmers (NCF) on November 18, 2004 was chaired by Professor M.S. 
Swaminathan his commission  was submitted in December 2004 and the fifth and final report was 
submitted on 04 October 2006. Recommendations of the Commission include health insurance, reduce 
crop loan interest rates to 4%, Land Reforms, Minimum Support Price. 
4. Notable Distressful Plight of Indian Farmers India with its diverse land mass is also subjected to diverse 
furies of nature. It is estimated that 70% of the country’s arable land is prone to drought, 12% to floods, 
and 8% to cyclones. National Crime Records Bureau, as many as 5,650 cases of farmers’ suicide are 
recorded in India annually.  
5. National Policy for Farmers (NPF), Minimum Support Price (MSP), Disaster relief, National Agricultural 
Insurance Schemes are the some of the schemes for farmer. However, this scheme has not found much 
favour with the farmers. The procedure for claiming the insurance money is highly tardy, complicated, 
time consuming and hidden clauses provide ample leeway to the insurance companies’ to exploit the 
simple farmers. A total of Rs 61,291 crore has been earmarked for 2015‐20 to provide relief to the states 
which may be hit by various natural and manmade disasters. One can only sincerely hope that the 
compensation does not get dissipated and reaches the needed, who may be otherwise pushed to the limit 
of their existence. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LEC. TOPIC 56: Fall of Rupee against Dollar
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. The value of rupee has fallen as much as 5% since the beginning of 2018 and is one of the worst 
performing Asian currency this year. Indian economy, as we all know, is imports driven rather than being 
exports driven. The current account deficit has increased in comparison to the previous year from $8 
billion to $13.5 billion, which is about 2% of the gross domestic product (GDP), mainly on account of 
increasing global oil prices and weakening of rupee for the import of other merchandises like electronics. 
2. The main reason for the fall of rupees is “the Indian context, more goods and services are being 
imported and the payment to the foreign exporters is being made in dollars and hence, the demand of 
dollars increases, with the result rupee depreciates against the dollar”.  
3. Depreciation of Indian Currency due to demand of dollars, unpredictability of policy makers, e.g. 
demonetization or hurried implementation of GST, etc may deter investors. RBI cannot aggressively 
intervene in the currency market. RBI data shows that the reserves have shrunk over $7 billion in just the 
last three weeks. 
4. Explicit Reasons for the Fall of Rupee: 
i. Restricted supply of currency, the interest rates in the US will begin to rise as the demand for various 
other assets will begin to drop. 
ii. Secondly, an increase in the cost of commodities like oil, which is trading around $77.50 a barrel 
(highest since 2014) and also electronics, which collectively constitutes 40% of the total imports made by 
India, has resulted in the rupee further depreciating. India imports 80% of its requirements of oil. 
5. Actions suggested by economists include: 

i. Regulate (controlled increase) the supply of rupee into the market, keeping in mind the danger of 
inflation due to excessive supply of currency. 

ii. Increase domestic interest rates to make investments more attractive. 

iii. Financial policies and initiatives to make investments in India more attractive. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LEC. TOPIC 57: UIDAI(Unique Identification Authority of India)
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. UPA govt(Congress) relentlessly took the initiative ahead and created 'Unique Identification
Authority of India' on Jan 2009, Reason to create UID was after the Kargil war national security
recommended “that citizens in villages in border regions be issued identity cards on a priority
basis, with such ID cards issued later to all people because some people had obtained multiple
Indian passports with different details. This was attributed to the lack of computerisation between
the passport centres”
2. UIDAI became controversial when NDA govt(BJP) passed Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of
Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services)Bill 2016 in Lok Sabha, where the NDA
government has a clear majority.
3. Personal and National Security Concerns on Aadhaar Bill 2016:
i. First and foremost implication violates the right to privacy of the citizens.
ii. Security and privacy concerns owing to the UID data presently hosted in a private data centre
and not hosted in a government data centre.
iii. Government’s obligation of linking it to bank accounts and mobile numbers makes it
vulnerable to hacking.
4. The Centre Government has made it mandatory to quote the Aadhaar number for opening bank
accounts and also made Aadhaar compulsory for 135 schemes including free cooking gas (LPG) to
poor women, kerosene and fertilizer subsidy. Supreme Court has restricted usage of Aadhaar to six
schemes, RBI has made it clear on 20th October that it has not issued instructions regarding
mandatory linking of the Aadhaar.
5. It is important for the govt to collect the data for more targeted dissemination of benefits of
various government welfare schemes to the citizens who need it the most. Besides, it can play a
vital role in controlling corruption, as well as address the issues of illegal immigrants. Conflicting
requirements of collecting and using data ethically as also ensure that it does not impinge upon the
privacy of the citizens.
LEC. TOPIC 58: GST(Goods and Services Tax)
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. France introduced GST in the year 1954, there are 140 other nations that follow the GST
system.Goods and Services Tax (GST) were passed in Lok Sabha on 29th March and were tabled
for discussion in Rajya Sabha on 05th April 2017. Four supplementary Bills include the Central
Goods and Services Tax Bill (CGST), the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill (IGST), the
Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Bill and the Union Territory Goods and
Services Tax Bill (UTGST).

2. GST is “single indirect tax” for the whole nation, which will make India one unified common
market. It is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the
consumer. GST purpose is removing “indirect tax barriers” across states and central into a
common market, boosting government revenue and reducing business costs.

3. Indirect taxes will subsume into GST:

I. At the Central level: (i) Central Excise Duty, (ii) Additional Excise Duty, (iii) Service Tax, (iv)
Additional Customs Duty
II. At the State level: (i) State Value Added Tax (VAT) or Sales Tax, (ii) Octroi and Entry tax, (iii)
Purchase Tax, (iii) Luxury tax, and (iv) Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling (v) Entertainment
Tax (vi) Central Sales Tax

4. Benefits of GST:
i. GST would eliminate the cascading effect of taxes in the production and distribution of supply
chain
ii. GST on exported goods and services will be refunded & It will build a transparent and
corruption-free tax administration
iii. GST will synergise the indirect tax laws across the states.

5. Downside of GST:
i. Smaller companies with turnover less than 20 lakh will not fall in the ambit of GST. So, these
companies will continue to pay excise or value added tax, the rate of which is higher than GST.
ii. Several companies have announced benefits to the businesses in the form VAT exemption.
There is no such provision under GST. Economists are saying GST is ‘old wine served in new
bottle’ and the rates of taxation will not change substantially.
iii. Exporters were also hit to the tune of INR650 billion due to the pending refunds. The locking
up of working capital in the form of GST affected the competitiveness of exporters.
The concrete effects of GST are expected to emerge only after a full financial year is passed that is
after March 2019. Till then, it is unjustifiable to call GST either an unprecedented success or an
utter failure.
LEC. TOPIC 59: Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. which was founded in 1996 after demarcation of China’s borders with the four newly formed
breakaway states of erstwhile USSR to peacefully resolve the boundary disputes, emerged from
the organisation, ‘Shanghai Five’ (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan)
2. Reasons for SCO Formation:
i. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are all landlocked states. After the collapse
of Soviet Union,the member states describing threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism
and extremism.
ii. Asian region is richly endowed with natural resources and vital minerals,Since, the region
became landlocked,Trade with these states became dependent on passage through adjoining
countries.
iii. SCO is the endorsement of China's OBOR
3. India and Pakistan joined SCO as full members on 9 June 2017 at a summit in Astana,
Kazakhstan. It is the largest regional organisation in the world in terms of geographical coverage
and population, and is one of the world's most powerful organisations.
4. SCO’s Permanent Membership For Pakistan:
i. Important ports of Karachi, in Sind and Gwadar,will provide closest access to the sea to Central
Asian Republics for oil and other imports
ii. ‘One Belt One Road’ project has an important segment, called the China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor (CPEC), passing through Pakistan will be used by all member states, except India.
5. SCO’s Permanent Membership For India:
i. SCO will give a welcome diplomatic boost to India’s efforts to connect with Central Asia.India’s
inability to exploit this resource rich neighbourhood is that India does not share common land-
borders with the region.
ii.India’s PM, to meet with their counterparts from Central Asia, Russia, China, Afghanistan, and
others regularly and frequently. A boost to the ‘Make in India’ campaign, especially in the defence
sector, as the breakaway provinces of USSR were a hub for manufacture of defence equipment and
weaponry.Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, signed in December 2015
will get a cogent attention.
LEC. TOPIC 60: NIPAH VIRUS
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. First detected in Malaysia in a place called Nipah, ( named after its origin) where hundreds died
mysteriously, in 1998, the origin of the virus was traced to pigs. There after, Nipah struck in
Bangladesh in 2001 killing hundreds of victims. However, in 2001 Nipah made its first appearance
in Siliguri & Nadia town , in the West Bengal claimed 49 deaths including the doctors and nurses
who treated the patients.. Laboratory those days, couldn’t identify the infectious agent named it
“Siliguri Fever”.
2. It was not until 2006, that it was identified as Nipah virus. To decipher the disease a team of
epidemiologists and virologists were summoned from National Institute of Virology, Pune and
World Health Organisation. In May 2018, the deadly virus revisited India, this time in
Malappuram and Kozhikode districts, Kerala, spreading terror and utter panic, this time, in Kerala
the source of the virus was detected to be ‘Fruit Bats’ and later infected humans become the
carriers of contamination.
3. The virus create severe fever and head ache which may last from 3 days to 14 days. The fever
will be followed by periodical drowsiness, disorientation and mental confusion. The symptoms of
Acute encephalitis may mislead the best of medical specialists. Soon the patient slips into a coma
in 24-48 hours and may never wake up.

4. The tragic death of Nurse Lini Sajeesh after treating a Nipah patient in Puthussery , on 21 May
had shaken the conscious of all Keralites. Lini just before dying wrote to her husband to take care
of their son and embraced death as a brave warrior. After a detailed survey, 2400 people who were
suspected to be exposed to the Nipah patients, were identified and all arrangements were made to
strictly quarantine them for 21 days. Effective preventive drugs or drugs to fight the virus,are yet
to be invented.
5. Dr from the Virology Lab in Manipal says-” the major challenge is identifying the Nipah virus
and the Lab was ready to do the tests with the collaboration”. Kerala tourism industry is severely
hit by the government travel advisory to avoid Kozhikode and nearby hill station Wayanad.Let us
hope that the worst fears about this deadly virus are put to rest, and this horrible chapter is over
now for Kerala.
LEC. TOPIC 61: E-WAY BILL
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. Electronic Way Bill known as E-WAY BILL is a document to be generated online under the
GST system, when goods of the value of more than 50,000 are shipped inter-State or intra-State.
The E-way bill must be raised before the goods are shipped and should include details of the
goods, their consignor, recipient and transporter.
2. Whether goods are transported on one’s own or hired conveyance, by air, rail or road, the E-way
bill has to be generated. Where the goods are handed over to a transporter for conveyance by road
and neither the consignor nor the consignee has generated the E-way Bill, the transporter becomes
liable to generate it.
3. When the consignor or transporter generates the E-way bill, the recipient for the consignment
has to either accept or reject it on the portal. If no action is taken by the recipient in 72 hours, it
shall be taken as accepted. If a consignment is found without an E-way bill, a penalty of 10,000 or
tax sought to be evaded, whichever is greater, can be levied.
4. Advantages:
i. Its ability to unify India as a market and do away with bothersome inter-State check-posts.
ii. A single electronic way bill for the movement of goods throughout the country was expected to
save tons of paperwork and side step various inter-state clearances for buyers, sellers and
transporters.
iii.Ministry of Road, tells us that a typical truck in India spends 20 per cent of its time in inter-state
check points. This varies from 20-30 minutes in some States such as Rajasthan and Maharashtra,
but goes upto two hours in Bihar or Jharkhand. E-WAY BILL saves time.
5. Dis-Advantages:
i. It is considered as a complex digital document. The trail period has been extended given the
constant errors.
ii. There are questions regarding validity of the e-way bill and if could be modified or deleted.
Which the government would surely respond to, It is for the same reason that the trial period has
been extended.
iii. There is confusion regarding who would have the ultimate responsibility of generating e-way
bills. Also, what would be the treatment of e-way bill for stock transfer- interstate or intrastate
transfers.
LEC. TOPIC 62: Defence Budget Inadequate for Modernization and Sustenance of Forces
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. Defence budget for the financial year 2018-19 was increased by 7.81 per cent to Rs 2.95 lakh
crore over last year’s Rs 2.74 lakh crore allocations.The Defence Budget allocation is just about
1.58% of the GDP for 2018-19, i.e. lowest figure since the 1962 war with China wherein it was
1.65%. China and Pakistan, India’s adversary and enemy, spend 3% and 3.5%, respectively of
their GDP on defence.
2. Standing Committee on Defence, led by Major General BC Khanduri (Retd), presenting its
forty-first report to Parliament on 13/3/18, highlighted two points:
i. Allocation of Rs 21,338 crore specifically for modernisation was grossly insufficient even to
emergency procurement of armaments and weaponry for 10 days of intense war
ii. 4.5% in revenue component would get totally consumed during the implementation of the
Seventh Pay Commission. Hence, funds for operations and maintenance, which can seriously
affect combat preparedness.
3. Inescapable Need of Indian Army:
i. army soldiers on the ground need infantry weapons like, modern rifles, machine guns, bullet
proof jackets, light helmets, night vision devices.
ii.Requires Howitzers/Gun to replace its obsolete,needs to replace its aging Chetak and Cheetah
helicopters.
4.Inescapable Need of Indian Air Force:
i. Air Force is down to 31 squadrons, whereas, the requirement is of 45 combat squadrons.
ii. Both, Army and AF are seeking to upgrade its missiles as well as surveillance capabilities to
keep vigil over the mountainous terrain.
5. Inescapable Need of Indian Navy:
i. Faces significant shortfalls of ships and submarines as well as modernization of naval bases and
facilities.
ii. Considering that China is increasingly expanding its footprint in the Indian Ocean region,
Indian Navy wants to take a giant leap in modernisation to ensure its dominance by acquiring 200
ships by 2027 from its present fleet of 145 ships.
LEC. TOPIC 63: Cloning
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. Cloning involves producing a group of cells or organisms that are identical, and which all
originate from the same primary organism. Allowing cloning will enable people to make replicas
of them. Scientists have already succeeded in cloning sheep and mice. As early as 1997, scientists
had discovered clone sheep called “Dolly” at Scotland.

2. A number of people has, however, remained skeptical and are opposed to the aspect of cloning.
Is human cloning ethical? However, it is extremely unethical as it violates the sanctity of human
life. It advances a role that nature does not advocate for and could be destructive to the entire
human race in the long run. Every effort must be made to stop the technology from advancing.

3. Advantages:
i. Cloning, it is argued, would enable scientists to come up with a replica of a patient’s genes,
hence save his life. The replication of organs such as heart, liver, and organ transplantation would
save lives. However, while organ transplant would be possible through manufactured organs
ii. Cloning can help infertile human beings in producing children thus providing an easy solution
to infertility.
iii. Genetic diseases can be cured with the help of cloning, the result is you will not suffer from
diabetes genetically if your parents are diabetic.

4 & 5. Disadvantages:
i. A number of undesirable traits can occur in human beings who are produced as a result of
cloning. Cloning is economically, socially and politically unacceptable.
ii. The removal of eggs involves first giving drugs to women to stop the production of ovaries, and
this ultimately affects their menstrual cycles. Ultimately, ovarian cancer could occur due to scars
that would be left when eggs are being harvested.
iii. It has also been estimated that a number of clones are born with disorders such as enlarged
umbilical cords, deformities, heart and intestine problems, respiratory distress.
LEC. TOPIC 64: SINGAPORE SUMMIT -2018
(Ref LEC. TOPIC 41 & 42)
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. Both the world leaders met at the Capella Hotel, on Sentosa Island in Singapore for the
historical summit on 12 June 2018. World countries exclaimed it as the “greatest show on Earth”.
At least for today. After the summit, Kim declared-“the world will see a major change” and he and
Trump” decided to leave the past behind”. Kim agreed to destroy a major missile testing site, but
offered no specifics.

2. Three Mutual Commitments:

i. From Kim, who reaffirmed his “firm and unwavering commitment to complete de-nuclearisation
of the Korean Peninsula”.
ii. From Trump who declared-“ US will provide security guarantees to North Korea.”
iii. Kim & Trumph joint pledge to build a “ lasting and robust peace regime in the Korean
Peninsula”

3. Trump, as a conciliatory gesture, stated that he would scale down the routine aggressive US
military exercises in the Peninsula. As the part of a long term peace proposal, Trump further
anticipated bringing back home 32,000 US troops stationed in South Korea.

4. Reciprocating Trump’s generous gesture, Kim had a new humanitarian approach towards US.
He agreed to recover the remains of American prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action
during the Korean War of 1950-53.
5. Reactions of World Countries:
i. Iran warmed North Korea “not to trust US President Trump” who, it said, could cancel their de-
nuclearisation deal within hours. It came with the back drop of US pull out of a 2015 Nuclear deal
with Iran, called it flawed and re-imposing unilateral sanctions.
ii. Japan snapped up a news paper special edition and China played down the significance of this
summit. UN Secretary said the summit was “an important milestone in the advancement of
sustainable peace and the complete and de-nuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula”.
LEC. TOPIC 65: Inter-State River Water Disputes in India
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. It needs to be understood that the amount of portable water which is available for drinking and
irrigation is limited and while our demand for it is ever increasing, it is not possible to increase the
supply. It is believed that one of the cardinal causes of all future conflicts between nations and also
between states within the same nation will be “water wars”. In order to address this issue, the
Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (IRWD Act) was enacted by the Parliament of India
under Article 262. The same was carried out concurrently with the re organising of the states on
the linguistic basis.`
2. Application of IRWD Act:
i. A downstream state may build a dam near its state boundary and submerge the territory of an
upstream state
ii. It may restrict the flow of water to the downstream state during lean periods and release
excessive water during flood situations.
3. Factors Governing Distribution of Inter-State River Water:
i. The doctrine of ‘equitable apportionment’ is the standard formula adopted while allocating the
use of river water to the concerned states.
ii. In determining the just and reasonable shares of the interested States, due regard is given to
whatever previous agreements, judicial decisions, awards and customs that are binding upon
the parties.
4&5. Remembering Various Inter-State River Water Disputes:
i. Godavari Water Disputes, States Involved: Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh and Orissa.
ii. Cauvery Water Disputes, States Involved:Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and the Union
Territory of Pondicherry.
iii. Ravi Beas Water Disputes, States Involved: Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
iv. Narmada Water Disputes, States Involved: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
v. Krishna Water Disputes, States Involved: Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
LEC. TOPIC 66: National River Inter-link Project
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. India’s population is growing at an exponential rate and all the natural resources, including
water are being consumed at a much faster rate. The scarcity of water is at the heart of many an
inter-state and inter-nation conflicts’ and at the same time excess of rainfall during the monsoon
causing huge loss of life and public property. Hence, there is an urgent need to judiciously harness
the water resource so as to prevent its wastage, dispel flood fury and increase irrigable land to
ensure food security. Towards this end, the National River Inter-link Project.
2. In order to carry out a detailed feasibility study by experts in respect of surveys, identification
and alignment of canals, inter-linking of Peninsular Rivers, etc a committee called the National
Water Development Agency (NWDA) was set up in 1982. NWDA has produced a number of
reports, nothing concrete has happened on the ground.
3. Advantages of Inter-linking of Rivers:
i. Every year the conditions of floods and famine brings about avoidable catastrophe in various
parts of the country resulting in loss of life and property, suicide by farmers and the resultant strain
on the state exchequer for relief and rescue operation. Inter-linking of rivers will be able to divert
excessive water to draught hit areas and mitigate the losses at both ends.
ii. Generation of hydro-power to supplement our energy needs and reduce reliance on conventional
forms of energy. India receives about 4,000 billion cubic meters of rain annually, or about 1
million gallons of fresh water per person every year. Inter-linking of rivers will ensure water is
evenly and judiciously distributed across the country to reduce the demand-supply gap.
4&5. Water development project be categorised into two sub-parts, namely the Himalayan Rivers
Inter-link Component and the Peninsular Rivers Inter-link Component.
i. Himalayan Component: Proposal entails transfer of surplus flows of the eastern tributaries of the
Ganga to the West apart from linking of the main Brahmaputra with the Ganga through inter-
linking canal systems.
ii. Peninsular Component:
 Phase-I: Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Pennaiyar-Cauvery to transfer surplus water from
Mahanadi and Godavari to southern states.
 Phase-II: Connect west flowing rivers, north of Bombay and south of Tapi to provide
additional drinking water to Mumbai and for irrigation purposes to the coastal regions of
Maharashtra.
 Phase-III: Inter-linking of Ken with Chambal to cater to the regional needs of water for
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
 Phase-IV: Diversion of some water from west flowing rivers in the Western Ghats towards
the east flowing rivers like Cauvery and Krishna for irrigation purposes in those usually
drought affected areas.
The initial cost of inter-linking of rivers will be estimated at 5, 60,000 crore. However, it is felt
that the long term net benefits may outweigh the initial cost and losses.

LEC. TOPIC 67: Women’s Empowerment:

TOP 5 POINTS:
1. India has been working towards empowering the women into Government & Non-government
Sectors conducting various program targeted to improve their health care, education, livelihood
opportunity to participate & decision making at home & society.
2. The 73rd amendment of Indian constitution 1993 is a major landmark in this direction. The
Panchayat Raj Institue(PRI) ENSURED RESERVATION OF NOT LESS THAN 33% For
WOMEN. This impact empowered women politically & socially, there are 2,60,000 panchayat
Where more than 75000 womens are elected largest number of women elected in the world.
3. Women’s reservation bill 2010 is a major milestone provide reservation of not less than 1/3rd of
women in the parliament.
4. Notable Problem faced by women:
i. Gender based inequality
ii. Female illiteracy, Female feticide, Female infanticide
iii. Child marriage, Dowry death & Sex trafficking.
5. Politics, Workplace, Sports, Defence, Entertainment & at Home we seen the success story of
women everyday. Lets see the recent Common wealth game India received 66medal where 38
medal are given by womens to the nation and most notable Rio Olympic where two womens saved
the countries name. To build a fair nation the cooperation, coordination & equal respect given to
all.
LEC. TOPIC 68: Article 370 & Article 35A
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. 0n 15 Aug 1947, India and Pakistan were granted independence from the British Rule.On 20
October 1947, Azad Kashmir Forces, supported by Pakistan army attacked the frontiers of the state
and marched towards Srinagar, as the state, at that time had 75% Muslim population. ‘Instrument
of Accession’ was signed between the Indian PM, Pandit JL Nehru and Maharaja Hari Singh on 26
October 1947.further LOC & POK has formed.
2. On 17 October 1949, Indian Constituent Assembly adopted Article 370 of the Constitution.The
Article became operative on 17 November 1952. Salient Aspects are:
i. The name, area or boundary of the state cannot be changed by the Union without the consent of
its State Legislature.
ii. Special rights are guaranteed to the permanent residents of the state regarding public
employment, acquisition of immovable property, settlement and government scholarships. No
outsider can buy property in J&K. Also, a girl getting married to a boy from outside the State of
J&K used to lose her right to ancestral property.
iii. Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties are not applicable. President’s
Rule can be applied in the state in case of breakdown of constitutional machinery under the
provisions of State Constitution
iv. All migrants to Pakistan before 1954 are given a choice of citizenship to India and could
resettle in the State of J&K.
3. Advantages of Articles 370:
i. Benefits of the Centre Government projects and schemes, especially for the underprivileged
people.
ii. Exploration and exploitation of abundant natural resources available in J&K and promotion of
tourism will greatly enhance its economic self reliance.
iii. Growth and prosperity will automatically lead to reduction in militancy related
incidents.Improvement of infrastructure and generation of employment through schemes like
MNEREGA & PDS.
4. Article 35A-Is a provision in the Constitution of India that empowers the J&K Legislature to
define permanent residents of the state. It was added under Article 370.The Hindutva parties of
India are opposed to Article 35A because it bars non- state subjects from settling and buying
properties in J&K.Article 35 A is a blot on our “Fundamental Right as citizens of the largest
democracy of the world
5. Main opposition parties of our parliament now opined that the Government may consider “
Autonomy to J&K”, which our PM Modi has vehemently rejected. The nation is waiting for the
Supreme Court verdict, If the verdict is in favour for the repealing of Article 35 A , it could
unleash fresh violence and protect in Kashmir.
LEC. TOPIC 69: Climate Change
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. External forcing mechanisms can either be natural such as the variation in the Earth’s orbit,
variation in solar radiation, volcanic eruptions, plate tectonics, etc or can be caused due to human
activities such as green house gases, carbon emission, etc. Internal forcing mechanisms, on the
other hand, are the natural processes that occur within the climate system. These include the
ocean- atmosphere variability as well as the presence of life on the earth.

2. Nature that the rate of melt off Antarctica has tripled in the past decade; as the Washington Post
put it, “If that continues, we are in serious trouble.” Were the Antarctic ice to melt away entirely,
global sea levels would rise by two hundred feet; if just the more vulnerable West Antarctic Ice
Sheet melted, sea levels would rise by about ten feet. Also recently, scientists reported that most of
Africa’s oldest baobab trees have died, probably because of climate change.

3. Backlash Of Climate Change:

i. Effect on Forests- However, changes in the climate have led to extinction of forests in many
regions.
ii.Effect on Water- The rainfall pattern has become erratic thereby causing extreme conditions
such as drought and flood. It has also caused melting of glaciers.
iii. Effect on Wildlife- A number of species of wild animals and plants have gone down and many
are on the verge of extinction.
4. Pertinent solution for Climate Changes:
i. Solar photovoltaic panels and large wind mills will soon decorate India's horizon and are going
to be familiar land marks. India plans to install as much as 100 GW of power generation capacity
through solar energy by 2022
ii. Electric cars are slowly making their entry into Indian roads. Battery - operated e- rickshaws
iii. Rain water harvesting facility will be made a mandatory requirement for all buildings to be
constructed in India.
5. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) & Kyoto Protocol
producing visible effects on the ground. It is high time for all citizens of India, to be more vigilant
to save our eco-system and environment from degradation and destruction. We have a tryst with
destiny, to be accomplished, towards our next generation.
LEC. TOPIC 70: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
TOP 5 POINTS:
1.The United Nations came into existence immediately after World War II, as an organisation
committed to maintaining world peace. ‘Charter of the United Nations’, which was signed by all
51 original member countries at San Francisco and came into force on 24 October 1945. Its
powers include, requisitioning and deploying peace keeping forces to broker and monitor peace,
imposition of sanctions on defaulting nations and authorisation of military action where required.

2. Structure of the Security Council as follows:

i. Consist of 15 Members of the UN. Out of which 5 are permanent members, i.e. USA, Russia,
China, France and UK and ten non permanent members, who are elected by the General Assembly
for two-year terms starting on 1st January, with five replaced each year.
ii. Non permanent member seats for Security Council is as follows:
African Group 3 members; Latin America and the Caribbean 2 member; Asia Pacific 2 members;
Western European Group 2 members; Eastern European Group 1 member, Asia-Pacific Group 1
member.

3. Reasons for India to Aspire for a Permanent Seat in the UNSC:

i. India is considered to be one of the most responsible nuclear power, Nuclear Suppliers’ Group
(NSG) for setting up nuclear facilities in India for peaceful purposes.
ii. Maintains the fourth largest standing armed forces, India is a key player that is fighting the
menace global terrorism and ensuring the free flow of trade and commerce through the sea lanes of
the India Ocean.
4. Opposition to India’s Claim for Permanent Seat:
i. Though the US and Russia have been supporting India’s bid, China has been against any
expansion of the Security Council.
ii. Another question that remains unanswered is that whether new members(China) in the Security
Council would be given the veto(Rejection) at all, which the US and Russia have made very clear
they would not favour to veto.
5. India’s claim for permanent membership in UNSC will sove Kashmir issues, its human rights
records are dismal and country is plagued with social evils like, rampant corruption, crime against
women& children, labour exploitation & ‘mafiaism leading to internal security problems like
Naxalism, etc, communal disharmony and inappropriate rights for minorities.
LEC. TOPIC 71: PLASTIC POLLUTION
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. Massive amounts of plastic accumulating in landfills and the ocean are harmful to marine life
and costly to deal with.Large and small scale are also turning to more environmentally friendly
measures due to consumer demand.
2. According to the UN Environment Programme Some 322 million tons of plastic, which
amounted to more than 900 Empire State Buildings in mass, was produced in 2015.
3. Plenty of plastic also ends up in the ocean, where it harms marine biodiversity and can fragment
into microplastic, that is ingested by animals and, indirectly, humans — although evidence is
inconclusive about how harmful that is for us.
4. Tackling plastic waste:
i. The EU pledged an additional 100 million euro to encourage the development of more
recyclable plastics materials.
ii. Tech giant Dell last year launched a pilot program to recycle ocean plastics to make packaging
trays for laptops.
iii. consumer goods conglomerate Unilever and food and drink giant Nestle, have pledged to move
toward 100 percent recyclable plastic packaging.Smaller start-ups have also attempted to make a
difference.
5. Demand for alternative materials. Consumer preferences for going green is, in turn, giving a
boost to the "bioplastics industry". Good news for Singapore-based bioplastic manufacturer Olive
Green, which produces various biodegradable disposable tableware and packaging products from a
corn-based bioplastic it develops.

LEC. TOPIC 72: Surrogacy

TOP 5 POINTS:
1. Surrogacy is an arrangement by which a woman gives birth to a baby on behalf of a
woman who is physically unable to have babies herself, and then gives the baby to her.

2. In 2002, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) laid out guidelines for surrogacy,
which made the practice legal, but did not give it legislative backing. This led to a booming
surrogacy industry which had lax laws and no enforcements. A study conducted in July 2012,
backed by the UN, put the surrogacy business at more than $400 million with more than 3000
fertility clinics all over the country.
3. A draft ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) Bill was formulated in 2010, but was
never passed as a law. The bill lays down single parents, male or female, to have a child through
surrogacy. Here, the women had to prove they were infertile and couldn’t give birth while the men
had no such condition.
4. The high cost of surrogacy in the U.S. has pushed many potential parents to seek cheaper
options elsewhere. Countries like India and Thailand have attracted surrogacy clients from
countries like the U.S., Britain, Australia and Israel. Exploitation often results in declining health
of mothers who become baby making machines. According to the CSR report, surrogate mothers
are paid $4000-$5000 for bearing the child. Clinics, however, charge the adoptive parents double
the money
5. . The reason driving the mothers to surrogacy is usually poverty and lack of education,
which further ensures their inability to challenge the exploitation. Surrogacy agencies provide
them with housing and food in these foreign countries. And they control the money. As a result,
the women are powerless to terminate their contracts, or go back home if they choose to do so.
They are isolated from friends and family and have no legal recourse to address financial abuses or
medical malpractice.

LEC. TOPIC 73: Green House Effect

TOP 5 POINTS:
1. The atmosphere of earth receives energy on daily basis from various resources including sun.
‘However, it is a natural cycle that earth’s atmosphere absorb heat which again passes back to the
space in order to maintain the natural cycle in the universe’. But, nowadays, increasing level of
green house gases in the environment released through many sources has disturbed the natural
cycle by ‘trapping heat from many resources and protecting them to go back to the space’. So the
current environment has become warmer than the earlier environment.

2. Green house gases during which thermal radiations of the earth’s surface gets absorbed which
again re-radiated to all directions instead of escaping back to the space. Rise in temperature is
caused by the fossil fuels, industries, agricultural processes, increasing emissions of greenhouse
gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, etc) because of the burning of wood, solid waste,
fossil fuels, etc.

3. According to the research, it has been found that average earth temperature has been raised by
0.2 degree celsius in every decade. Increasing temperature causes both carbon dioxide and water
vapour to get combined which impacts the global climate, may increase the temperature by 30
degree Celsius in the surface temperature if the level of CO2 becomes double, may hugely affect
crop production all over the world due to warming of surface layer.

4&5. PREVENTION:
i. Limit our need of agriculture, deforestation, mining, industrial production, etc.
ii. Strictly stop the deforestation process as well as replanting more plants. As only trees are the
best mediums of reducing the effect of greenhouse gases.
iii. Recycle habit to use disposable products once more in other forms instead of throwing them
such as paper, aluminium foils, newspapers, cans, etc in order to landfills.
iv. CFL or LED consume very less power than other ordinary bulbs. It is completely banned in
some countries to use ordinary bulbs.
v. Avoid the use of geysers and dishwasher and go for cold or warm water at home in order to save
more energy producing heat. Avoid buying packaged products in order to avoid generating more
wastes and garbage.
LEC. TOPIC 74: Recent Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Meeting
TOP 5 POINTS:

1. FATF is an inter-governmental body that was established in 1989 by a Group of Seven (G-7)
Summit in Paris its mandate to incorporate efforts to combat terrorist financing, in addition to
money laundering. The FATF currently comprises 35 member jurisdictions representing most
major financial centres in all parts of the globe. Israel and Saudi Arabia are observer countries.
FATF holds meetings three times in a year to monitor progress on implementation of its
recommendations and also to issue new recommendations, if and when required.
2. Objectives of FATF:
i. Set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational
measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction.
ii. FATF works to identify national-level vulnerabilities with the aim of protecting the
international financial system from misuse.
iii. Review new techniques of money laundering and terrorist financing being adopted by rouge
nations/ organisations and put into place appropriate counter-measures.
3. During the current FATF meet:
i.Pakistan was able to save itself of being Black-listed by agreeing to comply with a 26-point
action plan formulated by the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG).
The 26-point plan to which Pakistan has agreed to includes, erasing of all sources of financing to
terror groups operating within its borders, including the India-focused Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and
the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Other entities associated with these two parent groups, like the
Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), which is led by Hafiz Saeed who masterminded the 26/11 terror attacks in
Mumbai in 2008.
ii. Pakistan is the ninth country to be placed on the notorious FATF's grey list, the other eight
being Ethiopia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and Yemen.
4. “Grey List” was pushed by four member countries, the U.S., the U.K., Germany and France,
who, in mid-January 2018, initially China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) countries objected to Pakistan’s nomination.Pakistan will be put on regular monitoring; all
banking transactions in the country will come under closer global watch.
5. Advantage India:
i. Reduced terror funding and funding for purchase of military hardware
ii. snub from China to Pakistan will caution Islamabad that there are no permanent friends/
enemies and over reliance on China can be detrimental.
iii. Trump administration has now trained its guns on Pakistan and will see it through that it leads
to credible actions by Pakistan to rein in terrorism
LEC. TOPIC 75: Indian Money Parked in Swiss Banks
TOP 5 POINTS:

1. The money parked by Indians in the Swiss banks has increased by 50% to Rs 7000 crores in
2017 as compared to the previous year. PM Narendra Modi had promised the citizens of the
country during his election campaign in 2014 that he will get the black money back from the safe-
havens abroad and put Rs 15 lakh into the account of every Indian.

2. Important highlight to crack down on black money, like:

i. Amendment of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), which allowed for routing
of Indian money, back into Indian market through Mauritius.
ii. Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), which was valid from December 16, 2016 to
March 31, 2017 and provided an opportunity to declare unaccounted wealth and black money in a
confidential manner and avoid prosecution after paying a fine of 50% on the undisclosed income.
iii. Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) imposed restrictions on 162 listed entities in
August 2017 as shell companies, as part of its broader crackdown on illegal offshore transfers and
tax evasions and nearly 200,000 shell companies have been shut down.

3&4. why are Indian individuals and companies depositing their money in Swiss banks in that
case?
i. Extremely High Rates of Taxation in India- The taxation system in India, especially after the
hurried introduction of GST, is not only cumbersome, but is very high in comparison to the civic
amenities and social security’s being provided to the tax payers.
ii. Demonetization and Voluntary Disclosure Schemes provided an Opportunity to Convert Black
Money into White.
iii. Stagnation in the Real Estate and Infrastructure Sector- The avenues for investment in India
significantly reduced after demonetization killed the real estate sector and investors preferred to
park their money abroad.
iv. Investors are losing Faith- It can be deduced from the above that both Indian and foreign
investors prefer to invest abroad.
v. Falling Rupee against the Dollar

5. Hence, the government of the day has to take tangible steps on the ground to improve the
investment climate in the country so that we do not continue to lose business. Recently Yashwant
Sinha quits BJP; says democracy in danger. "I felt pained personally. After 1978 demonetisation, I
had brought back the Rs 1,000 note that was abolished. I felt as if my child has been killed. Apart
from that, in order to clean up, you introduced Rs 2,000 note?" he said.
LEC. TOPIC 76: India Mob lynching Cases

TOP 5 POINTS:

1. The data compiled by analysts of India Spend for the period from the past 7 years shows that
Muslims were the target of 52% cases of violence relating to cow vigilante and comprised of 84%,
Unfortunately, in 52% of cases based on rumours that were not proved to be correct. In 30% of the
cases the police registered cases against the survivours of such attacks. A total of 16 cases, that has
resulted in 22 deaths were reported from Tripura, Assam, Chennai and Maharashtra, in this year.
2. As many as 97% of these attacks were reported after the present government came to power in
May 2014 and half the cases related to cow vigilantism were reported from the BJP governed
states. Furthermore, in 24 such attacks, the attackers were mobs/ groups belonging to organizations
like, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and local Gau Rakshak Samitis, etc.
3&4. Various Noticeable Reasons :
i. Struggle for Identity and Conflict of Interests- Means for communities to assert their communal
identities and to demand their share in economic, educational and job opportunities.
ii. Lack of faith in Judicial system- Recent reports of people being lynched on rumours of being
child-lifters, cattle thieves, honour killings, using water from well reserved for upper class, etc
clearly displays the pent up anger and a lack of faith in the country’s executive and judicial
system.
iii. Unemployment and a Life of Deprivation Triggers Intolerance- Previous one year we have lost
90 lakh jobs and the percentage of working professionals has declined from 54% to 51% in the
previous four years.
iv. Irresponsible Media Reporting and Paid Channels- Well known fact that the political parties
have huge stakes in both print and electronic media. The news on the same issues is presented in
different channels differently, with the obvious objective of shaping public opinion favourably.
5. Possible Way To Reduce:
i. Effective Law Enforcement- The fear of a strong punitive action against the miscreants must
serve as a serious deterrent for repeating the offence.
ii. Faith of Public in Judicial System- Reforms in the delivery mechanism of criminal justice
system are critical. Justice must be delivered without delay and must be reformatory rather than
punitive.
iii. Instilling Core Indian Values- The classes and divisions being created for vote bank politics is
eroding our homogeneity. The sense of preserving our heritage and culture and the need to
maintain. Educational institutions and media must come forward to play a vital role in integrating
our society.
LEC. TOPIC 77: REASON FOR SLOW DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EAST STATES
TOP 5 POINTS:

1.The Chinese aggression of 1962- created a feeling to the private investors that large scale
investment in North East is risky.Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971- led to migration of crores of
people as refugees in North East region.

2. States like Manipur , Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal pradesh , Meghalaya are under AFSPA due
to insurgency.
3. Development of transport infrastructure in North East is very slow, thus reinforcing isolation
from rest of the country as well as resulting in slow mobilization of resources and wealth. The
railway network of North East is only 4% of India's rail network.
4. Other Parameters are:
i. The coal present in North East, is unfit for industrial use.
ii. Inadequate number of higher institutions.
iii. Agriculture is not studied and implemented. Due to lack of technology and transport there has
been huge loss in agro sector.

5. This region is surrounded on three sides by foreign countries – Bangladesh from the south and
west, China (Tibet) and Bhutan from the north and Myanmar from the east. Anyhow Northeast in
appreciable numbers in all parts of the country, in trade, government organisations, IT, media and
defence. The numbers are increasing every day.
LEC. TOPIC 78: NITI AAYOG
TOP 5 POINTS:

1.National Institution for Transforming India(NITI) is an institution of the Government of India

responsible for formulating economic policy recommendations for the central, state and union
territory governments of India. It was established on January 1, 2015 and replaces the Planning
Commission of India, which was abolished after 65 years of functioning.
2&3. NITI Aayog Objectives:
i. To provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and
international like-minded, as well as educational and policy research institutions.
ii. To design strategic and long term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and
monitor their progress and their efficacy. The lessons learnt through monitoring and feedback will
be used for making innovative improvements, including necessary mid-course corrections.
iii. To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these
progressively at higher levels of government.
iv. To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefitting
adequately from economic progress.
4. One of the major projects planned in the budget to boost economic growth is the 'Sagarmala"
Project (project to develop port infrastructure). PM Modi views this as a major development plank
to enhance port-led development.PM plans to create few coastal economic zones. The coastal
economic zones eventually put the focus on export markets, as a matter of fact in the world export
market India has miniscule share of 1.5% only. China has a share of about 12-15% of it.
5. The NITI Aayog challenge lies in ensuring the expected implementation of these projects by
respective states, as the centre/state government machinery who dispense these project funds, are
highly corrupt and predominantly driven by cheap political popularity.
LEC. TOPIC 79: FDI(Foreign Direct Investment) in Defence Sector
TOP 5 POINTS:

1.The Long-term Integrated Procurement Plan of the government gives out the planned
procurement right up to 2027. To meet this requirement internally, the industry needs a capital of
more than Rs 50,000 crore over the next three years. The defence Public Sector Units (PSUs) are
in no position to make this investment and the Indian private industry find this high risk
investment, expertise through R&D / transfer of technology from foreign sources.
2. 100% FDI in Defence Sector:
i. The existing policy on FDI requires the foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to
form joint ventures with domestic firms if they want to establish a manufacturing base in India.
ii. The New policy on FDI regarding 100% FDI in defence comes into force, an OEM can
independently plan and implement operations in India. It will reduces the dependence of OEMs on
domestic manufacturers.
3&4. Advantages of FDI in Defence:
i. Defence manufacturing in India will be able to create couple of million jobs, which in turn will
boost up the country’s GDP.
ii. By allowing FDI in defence, India can ensure that companies deliver what they have promised.
Many a times, there is a mismatch between what is promised and what is delivered.
iii. India imports most of its equipment and weapon systems, there will be a huge savings to the
State exchequer as the cost of manufacturing in India will be low.
iv. Sale service of the equipment will be better. Presently, there are many categories of equipment
which are lying off road for want of spares and technical support.
5. Disadvantages of FDI in Defence:
i. It has been proven by Indians time and again that given a chance and encouragement, they can
deliver the same technology much cheaper, e.g. Chandrayaan and Mars mission.
ii. DRDO has not delivered much in the last 60 odd years. However, instead of overhauling and
making it productive, 100% FDI in defence will make DRDO irretrievably defunct.
iii. 100% FDI in defence is being implemented even before giving a fair chance to the Indian
private sector.
LEC. TOPIC 80: BALOCHISTAN ISSUE
TOP 5 POINTS:

1.Balochistan comprises of 46% of the territory which makes Pakistan. The region is rich in
mineral wealth and a major part of petroleum products come from Sui gas and major gold and
copper deposits are found at Reko Diq/Saindak. The natives of Balochistan has the lowest
road density and no major rail connection, Also the Baluchs are vary about military
high-handedness like China & also feel that they are under-represented in Pak
parliament, though their population is thin.
2. Balochistan wants independence, it is almost impossible because of three reasons:-
i. It shares a long border with every province of Pakistan, unlike Bangladesh.
ii. It has a miniscule population that cannot put up on a fight against a large Pakistan Army.
iii. Chinese companies as part of its $45.6 billion energy and infrastructure projects to build the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that will link Gwadar Port.
3. Baluchs demand ?
Baluch nationalists demand greater political rights ,autonomy and control over their natural
resources and have led four insurgencies. Balochistan Liberation Army(BLA),designated as a
terrorist organization by Pakistan and Britain is the most popular separatist group. Since 2000 it
had been active and conducted several deadly attacks against Pak troops and vital installations.
4. Pak effort to blame India's support to Baluch Rebels:
i. The arrest of Kulbhushan Jadhav,a former Navy Officer,in Pakistan on charges of espionage in
Balochistan has brought that troubled region of Pakistan into focus. Naela Qadri Baloch, who
lives in self-exile in Canada ,having arrived in India days after Jadhav's arrest in Pakistan - "India
has vital economic and energy needs that can be fulfilled through Balochistan if it chooses to help
the oppressed people of Balochistan gain freedom from Pakistan".
ii. However she felt that the 'political will' of India is lacking to assume a declared active role in
their freedom struggle. Recollecting India's proactive role in helping Bangladesh to attain
freedom,she hoped that India would understand the sentiments of Baluch people and take concrete
initiative to wrestle freedom from the Pak oppressors.
5. India's stand
India has denied the allegation of covert support for insurgents of Balochistan. However
British Intelligence officials are convinced of India's covert assistance to the rebels of Balochistan
and were concerned that this support would increase as a defensive action against Pakistani
support for the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, following the 2008 Mumbai attacks.In a nut
shell, if Kashmir is a bone of contention for India, Balochistan is a similar head ache for Pakistan.

LEC. TOPIC 81: India's Look East Policy

TOP 5 POINTS:
1.”Look East Policy” refers to India’s initiative to ‘cultivate and strengthen strategic and economic
ties with countries of South East Asia’, with the aim of becoming a regional power. The need to
develop better ties with these countries was also felt to counter China’s growing strategic influence
in the region.
2.3.4. The strengths and grey areas of India’s relationship with our prominent neighbors are
discussed in the succeeding paragraphs:
i. BHUTAN- India’s total assistance to Bhutan during its Five Year Plan was Rs 5000 crores,
excluding funding for Hydropower projects. Bhutan is presently exporting electricity to India from
its existing hydroelectricity projects with a capacity of 1416 MW. It is envisaged that this capacity
will be raised to 10000 MW by 2020.
ii. NEPAL- Indo-Nepalese Peace Treaty of 1950, Nepalese people can work in India without a
work permit and can have bank accounts and own property. There are about 150 diverse Indian
ventures operating in Nepal, including, manufacturing, services (banking, insurance, telecom, Dry
Port, education), power sector and tourism industry. The scope for capacity building of
hydropower projects in Nepal is phenomenal. It is estimated that the present hydropower capacity
of Nepal is 40000MW; the same can be enhanced to 80000MW.
iii. Myanmar- China was the only country that continued to maintain economic and diplomatic
relations with Myanmar’s. India is stepping up its momentum to improve economic ties with
Myanmar. Top companies are looking for investment in telecom, energy and Aviation sectors.
Seven Indian companies are amongst 59 companies shortlisted by Myanmar for off shore Gas
block allocation. India has also provided $500 million as credit to Myanmar for a host of
infrastructure development and capacity building projects.
iv.Vietnam- Is another very important destination for India with respect to trade, energy security
and also to garner support of the anti-China camp. The major areas of Indian investment are oil
and gas exploration, mineral exploration and processing, sugar processing, Agro-chemicals, Agro-
processing, IT sector, etc. The single biggest Indian project is that of Tata Power’s, $1.8 million
worth Thermal Plant.
V. Thailand- In order to encourage and facilitate trade, a Free Trade Agreement is being
processed. Also work is on to construct a highway linking India-Myanmar-Thailand; it is expected
to be completed by 2019. The same will result in economic development of our NE States in a
major way.
5. Modi government’s commitment and focus towards enhancing trade, it is expected that the trade
with ASEAN will cross $100 billion by the end of next year and the figures will be doubled by
2025. Envisaged road and rail connectivity to energy giants like, Nepal and Myanmar and further
to Thailand, will improve people to people contact, thus enhancing the sphere of economic
cooperation and interdependence.
LEC. TOPIC 82: Section 377
TOP 5 POINTS:
1.”Section 377” of the IPC was introduced by the British in the year 1860. This Section
criminalized all sexual activities that may be categorised as ‘against the order of nature’.
Intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with
imprisonment for life, or imprisonment which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to
fine. Nepal had legalized homosexuality in 2007. Lastly, many countries like, France, UK,
Canada, United States, Australia and Brazil have decriminalized homosexuality. Other countries
like Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Iceland, allow same sex marriages.
CHRONOLOGY:
2. Delhi High Court Order of 02 July 2009-
In its 105 page judgment in July 2009, the Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S
Muralidhar said that Section 377 of the IPC is violative of Article 21 (Right to Protection of Life
and Personal Liberty), Article 14 (Right to Equality before Law) and Article 15 (Prohibition of
Discrimination on Grounds of Religion, Race, Caste, Sex or Place of Birth) of the Constitution.
Hence, “the150-year-old Section 377 was declared unconstitutional” with respect to sex between
consenting adults by the High Court of Delhi on 02 July 2009.
3. Supreme Court of India on 11 December 2013-
“HC Judgement Overturned by Supreme Court judgement” was that amending or repealing
Section 377 falls in the ambit of the Parliament. On 28 January 2014 Supreme Court dismissed all
the review Petitions against its verdict of December 11th on Section 377 of IPC.
4. Supreme Court Order of April 2014-
April 2014 a landmark verdict had directed the government to declare transgender as a ‘third
gender’ and include them in the OBC quota. This verdict indirectly helped in protecting the
LGBTs(lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights . The verdict pronounced that the ‘third
gender’ must be given equal rights under law, including marriage, adoption, divorce, succession
and inheritance.
5. July 2018 – SC Hearing Petitions Challenging its 2013 Verdict-
The data put up by National Record Bureau reveals that in 2016 alone, more than 2,100 cases were
registered under the Section 377. Five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak
Misra said "We will only decide on the challenge to Section 377 and what civil rights follow, will
be decided later".
ADVANTAGE- Many child rights activists had criticized the Delhi HC verdict de-criminalising
homosexuality on the ground that Section 377 was required to prevent cases of child sexual abuse.
DIS-ADVANTAGE- Section 377 to be de-criminalised that, it is high time that the IPC reflects
that India too is a diverse and progressive nation.
LEC. TOPIC 83: FIFA(Federation of International Football Association)
TOP 5 POINT:

1. Only the men's national teams take place in this world cup which is held every four years since
it started at the year 1930 except in 1942 and 1946 because of the World War II. 32 teams
participate in the current format of the world cup tournament in a certain nation which is chosen
by Teams begin to compete to book a place in the tournament for like three years before it starts
called the world cup finals.
2. In the long run, the World Cup Football is a great source of entertainment. It is supposed to
cement the relationship between different nations of the world. It bridges the gap between the
different countries. The people of all over the world enjoy the World Cup Football very much.

3. Only seven nations won the World Cup title of the last 19 tournaments. Brazil won - 5 times,
Italy won - 4 times, Germany won- 3 times, France & Argentina twice and one title for Uruguay
and England. 2014 World Cup was held in Brazil & the winner is Germany. 2022 World Cup:
Will takes place at Qatar

4.FIFA-2018:
The participant countries are divided into eight groups namely: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. Four
countries play in each group. First time that a World Cup will be hosted in Eastern Europe. Russia
has proposed. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, All the cities are in or just
outside European Russia to reduce travel time for the teams in the huge country. The bid
evaluation report stated: "The Russian bid proposes 13 host cities and 16 stadiums, thus exceeding
FIFA's minimum requirement. Three of the 16 stadiums would be renovated, and 13 would be
newly constructed."
5. A total of 64 matches were played in 12 venues across 11 cities. The final took place on 15 July
at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, with France and Croatia competing for the World Cup.
France won the match 4–2 to claim their second World Cup title.
LEC. TOPIC 84: PAKISTAN GENERAL ELECTIONS
TOP 5 POINT:

1. Pak. general election , scheduled from 25 July, 2018 in Pakistan an extremely dangerous and
bloody general election in the history of Pakistan, the main roles being played by former PM
Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam, his younger brother and President of PML(Pak. Muslim
League) Shehbaz Sharif.

2. Nawaz Sharif was disqualified to be the PM by the Supreme Court last year in the Panama
Papers case & banned him from heading PML- N party founded by him. His brother Shahbaz who
was the Punjab province CM, became party president. Nawaz Shariff and Maryam were later
convicted on 6 July, 2018 in the Evenfield properties case linked to the Shariff family’s ownership
of four luxury flats in London. Shariff and Maryam were sentenced to 10 and 7 years respectively
by the supreme court.

3. Pakistan’s powerful military operating behind Imran Khan the ex- cricket hero and strong
contender for the PM post. Shahbaz managed to take out a huge rally to receive Nawaz on his
home-coming prior to his arrest, despite the imposition of Section 144. Nawaz Shariff’s supporters
were stopped at Airport and they clashed with the riot control police. Around 1500 supporters of
Nawaz along with his brother Shahbaz and few national leaders were arrested under 7-ATA( Anti
Terrorism Act)

4. Militants created blasts at a rally taken out by targeting JUI-F leader Akram Khan Durrani in
Bannu & Baluchistan Awami Party( BAP) Siraj Raisani in Mastung area in the troubled
Balochistan Province. The 'Islamic State' terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
About 16-20 kilograms of explosives were used for the attacks. Bomber attacks at 2 election rallies
killing more than 149 people including a senior nationalist leader and at least 200 severely injured.

5. Durrani is contesting the July 25 elections against Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaaf (PTI)(Chief,
Imran Khan. On Monday, in a separate incident a suicide bomber killed Awami National Party (
ANP) leader and candidate in the elections. Pakistan Tehreek- e- Taliban claimed responsibility
for the attack on the ANP rally. Hence the General Election of Pakistan is a most significant event
for India too, determining our future diplomatic relationship with the trouble-torn nation.
LEC. TOPIC 85: GROWTH OF PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY (CHINA)
TOP 5 POINT:

1. People’s Liberation Army is the largest army in the world and soon to be the most formidable
military Power, even beating US Army. The modernisation and weaponisation of PLA is one of
the top priorities of China in this decade. By the end of another decade, Xi Jinping may turn PLA
into a formidable war- machine, there by undermining the military might of India in the Sub-
continent.

2.Indian government is busy ordering our Army to make railway bridges, spread Yoga mats for
politicians and clean the garbage irresponsibly thrown by tourists in glaciers. The sad truth is today
Indian Army is devoid of teeth, with an incompetent war machine and aging military hardware.
Whereas our enemy across the border is becoming invincible day by day, dwarfing India in the
process.

3. History of PLA traces its roots to the ‘Nanchang Uprising’ of 1 August 1927. People’s
revolution overturned the royalty. On that day the Communists led by Mao. Mao addressed the
men of the Army and clarified the role of the military as being “to chiefly serve the political ends”
the PLA was to be the military of the Communist Party, not of China.

4. Since 1979, China has not engaged in any major military confrontation. However, 
it has cleverly pursued the strategy of “nibbling and negotiating” (talking and 
fighting concurrently). This low cost model in the form of stand-offs like at Doklam or
confrontation in the South China Sea are likely to be the new normal.

5. The theme of China’s ‘Ninth White Paper on National Defence’ published in May 2015 was
“Active Defence” with the focus on winning ‘local wars in conditions of modern technology’.
Currently, the structure of India’s higher defence organization is service specific, lacking
integration and jointness.
LEC. TOPIC 86: INDIA AND SEYCHELLES NAVAL BASE
TOP 5 POINT:

1. India and Seychelles made a historic agreement on 25 Jun 2018, to work together on a project to
develop a naval base at the ‘Assumption Island’ keeping each other’s concerns in mind after talks
between Indian PM and Seychelles President Danny. Besides India also announced a USD 100-
million credit to Seychelles for augmenting it’s defence capabilities.

2. The People’s Republic Of China launched its mega project ' Belt and Road Initiative' aimed at
extending its trade supremacy across the seas to the western world. In pursuit of its ambitious
futuristic plan, China started wooing the island nations of Indian Ocean along with its side kick
project of China Pakistan Economic Corridor( CPEC) with its port complex at Gwadar in
Balochistan, opening a new sea trade route. Last decade saw China aggressively pursuing
economic and infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka.

3. China with a view to win over the island nation and develop its naval bases in the Indian Ocean.
where China has been trying to enhance its military presence. An agreement to develop the Island
was inked in 2015, between the two nations. However, amid growing political opposition to the
move in Seychelles.

4. To further extend India’s friendship India would also hand over the second Dornier(DO-228)
aircraft to Seychelles. The DO-228 can be used for the Island's Extensive Economic Zone(EEZ)
monitoring and control, search and rescue operations and commuter services. “With this credit,
Seychelles will be able to buy defence equipment to boost its maritime capacity”.
5. It also will open a lucrative market for our ‘Make in India Defence products and military
hardware in Seychelles. With a strong strategic alliance with Japan, India may be able to rein-in
the Red Dragon in the Indian Ocean region in future.
LEC. TOPIC 87: Capital Punishment
TOP 5 POINT:

1. Capital punishment in India is handed out in the “rarest of the rare” cases, like to a person guilty
of heinous crimes particularly that of rape or murder and the sentence is executed by hanging the
accused by the neck till the person is dead. In some countries this could be substituted by the
electrical chair or shooting.

2. Worldwide about 55 countries actively practice capital punishment, while, 140 countries have
abolished it for most crimes. 19 states in the U.S. and the country of Canada have abolished the
death penalty.India had imposed an unofficial moratorium on executions, which ended in
November 2012 with the hanging of Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman in the
2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Two months later, Mohammad Afzal Guru, convicted in a deadly
2001 attack on India's Parliament complex, was also hanged.

3&4. Reasons Against Capital Punishment:

i. National Law University in New Delhi has researched that, since the year 2000, more than 1,600
people have been sentenced to death. A joint study conducted by the university that three-fourths
of prisoners on death row are poor people who cannot afford to hire lawyers who can argue their
case and often go without legal representation.
ii. To kill the person who has killed someone close to you is simply to continue the cycle of
violence which ultimately destroys the avenger as well as the offender. On the contrary, the
extended legal process prior to executions can prolong the agony experienced by the victims'
families.

5. Reasons to Support Capital Punishment

i. The threat of the death penalty may deter some murderers who otherwise might not have been
deterred
ii. The high cost of prolonged period in custody for highly sensitive cases like that of Ajmal
Kasab, is at the expense of many people who die each year due to hunger and poverty.
iii. Hence, fear of capital punishments serves to assist the authorities to obtain maximum
information from the prisoner, e.g. Yakub Memon exposed the role of ISI, Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger
Memon and others in the 1993 Bombay blasts.
LEC. TOPIC 88: UKRAINE -RUSSIA CRISIS
TOP 5 POINT:

1. Crisis in Ukraine is an outcome of religious, cultural and linguistic differences between Western
Ukraine, which is pro-Europe, and Eastern & Southern Ukraine, which is pro-Russia.

2. Ukraine became independent in 1991 after the dissolution of USSR for the successive presidents
exploited the system for personal gains and abused power. Ukraine plunged into deep economic
quagmire, the President was compelled by circumstances to get into an association agreement with
EU.

3.This is when Russia intervened and offered Ukraine with concessions and financial support.
Ukraine President who was always pro-Russia, dropped the Trade Association Agreement with
EU. Crackdown by Ukraine government led to spread of riots and further aggravated the
situation.Ukraine President realized that the situation had gone beyond his control and the noose
was tightening around him, he fled the country and sought asylum in Moscow.

4. Reasons for Russian Intervention in Ukraine:

i. Ukraine provides Russia the much desired strategic depth and serves as a buffer against Euro
states and NATO, whose eastward expansion is regarded by Russia as a serious security threat.
ii. Ukraine plays an important role in Russian energy trade; its pipelines provide transit to 80% of
natural gas being sent to the Europe market.
iii. Russia feels to play a supportive role to ethnic Russians in Ukraine.

5. US and EU has condemned the Russian armed intervention. Sanctions have been imposed on
Russia and assets of Ukraine ex-President in EU have been frozen.Brain storming done to reduce
reliance of Europe on Russian oil. Options like importing oil from USA or from other sources like
Africa are being explored.
LEC. TOPIC 89: FGFA AND AMCA
TOP 5 POINT:

1. India first indigenous fighter (LCA TEJAS) which is single engine, single seat and multi role
fighter jet. But till India is not able to build its own engine which is the main power house for any
Fighter jet but India is developing it at a very fast rate. China, one of India’s most likely regional
opponents, has surged fifth generation aircraft(FGFA) known as J-20 stealth fighter. Pakistan is
reportedly eying cooperating with China on its own fifth generation fighter jet.

2. The two countries expected the multi-billion dollar partnership between India’s state-run
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russia’s Sukhoi would lead to a production order of
more than 100 FGFAs, with much of the actual manufacturing occurring in India. India confirmed
to Russia that it is no longer Interested in pursuing joint development of 5th generation fighter jet
program based on its Su-57 fighter, technologies should to be used for the new aircraft and both
sides also failed to agree to a work and cost sharing plan.

3. IAF is not only is walking out of FGFA program. Big boost seems to have come with his open
support to the indigenous Advance Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program. In 2012 final
design is approved by Air-force, after that HAL(Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) and
ADA(Aeronautical Development Agency) are working on this project with their full speed. ADA
said that they will make first prototype by 2022.

4. Speed of AMCA will be 2,655 km/h and this fighter jet will be powered by Kaveri engine which
is under development stage. AMCA also consists of modern sensors, Radars, Missiles which will
be a mix of Israel, India, Russia, France and some other technologies from India’s friendly
countries too.

5. AMCA is intended to replace Sepecat Jaguar and Dassault Mirage 2000 which are assigned role
of Multi-role aircraft with mainly Fighter bomber role. It will fill the role along with the Attack
aircraft role as it is also going to replace Mikoyan MiG-27 and Mikoyan MiG-23. AMCA as a
platform with high survivability, to meet the challenges of future air defense environments through
a combination of moderate stealth, electronic warfare capability, sensors and kinetic performance.
LEC. TOPIC 90:NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
TOP 5 POINT:

1. NATO is an Military alliance of 28 countries bordering the North Atlantic Ocean.

NATO's primary purpose was to defend member nations from threats by communist countries i.e.,
to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. U.S. military protection gave European
nations the safety needed to rebuild after World War II's devastation. NATO signed the North
Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949. It worked in conjunction with the United Nations, the World
Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

2. NATO's 28 members are:

i. Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United
States.
ii. Its non-NATO members include Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, and
Tunisia
iii. Also NATO cooperates with Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand,
Afghanistan and Pakistan.

3. “NATO's Article 5” states, "an armed attack upon one... shall be considered an attack upon them
all." NATO's mission is to protect the freedom of its members, include weapons of mass
destruction, terrorism, and cyber attacks. NATO invoked Article 5 was after the 9/11 terrorist
attacks. U.S. requests for help in the War in Afghanistan. At its peak, it deployed 130,000 troops.
In 2015, it ended its combat role and began supporting Afghan troops. During the Cold War,
NATO's mission expanded to prevent nuclear war.

4&5. NATO-2018:
i. Known as 2018 Brussels Summit of the was the 29th formal meeting of the heads of state and
heads of government. President Trump requested that NATO nations up their spending to 4
percent of GDP. Only four countries reach the targeted spending of 2 percent of gross domestic
product. They are the US, the UK, Greece, and Estonia.
ii. Trump also criticized Germany for asking the US to protect it from Russia while importing
billions in natural gas from it.
iii. Trump also accused NATO of being obsolete. He argued that the organization focuses on
defending Europe against Russia instead of combating terrorism. Member countries worry that
Trump's criticism of NATO
iv. NATO is expected to approve new steps to contain Russia. These include two new military
commands, expanded cyber warfare and counterterrorism efforts, and a new plan to deter Russian
aggression against Poland and the Baltic States. Trump agreed to these measures.
LEC. TOPIC 91: WARS OF INDIA AFTER INDEPENDENCE
TOP 5 POINT:
MAJOR WARS ARE FIVR HELD ON 1947,1962,1965,1971,1999

1. Indo-Pakistani War of 1947- (First Kashmir War) The conflict began over the Muslim-
populated, but Hindu-ruled Princely State of Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh. Azad Kashmir Forces,
supported by Pakistan army attacked the frontiers of the state and marched towards Srinagar, as
the state, at that time had 75% Muslim population. Maharaja requested military aid from India, In
January of 1949, India had control of Jammu, Ladakh, and Kashmir Valley; Pakistan had control
of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. ‘Instrument of Accession’ was signed between the Indian
PM, Pandit JL Nehru and Maharaja Hari Singh on 26 October 1947.further LOC & POK has
formed.

2. Indo-Sino War of 1962- In 1959, China claimed 104,000 km² of territory, over which India's
maps were showing clear sovereignty, and demanded "rectification" of the entire border.China
made a proposal to India that it “would relinquish its claim to most of India's northeast in
exchange for India's abandonment of its claim to Aksai Chin”,is the primary reason. Till the start
of the war, the Indian side was confident that war would not be started but Chinese cut Indian
telephone lines, preventing the defenders from making contact with their headquarters. On the first
day, the Chinese infantry also launched an attack. Indian army suffered the following casualties:
1,383 killed and 3,968 jawans captured. The Chinese on the other hand lost 722 soldiers while
1,697 were wounded.

3. Indo-Pakistani War of 1965- In 1956, India regained Rann of Kutch region in Gujarat. Then, in
Jan, 1965, Pakistan sent troops to patrol an Indian-controlled region, believing the local population
wanted to be out of Indian control. This move was followed by attacks on both sides in April of
the same year. With tensions high, Pakistan launched Operation “Gibraltar” in August of 1965
and began invading the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. India responded with a full military
attack in West Pakistan. Although this war only lasted for 17 days, it resulted in thousands of
deaths. The war was the largest grouping of troops since independence and the largest tank battle
since World War II.

4. Indo-Pakistani War of 1971- In March of 1971, an East Pakistan political party won the
election, and West Pakistan chose not to recognize the results. The Bangladesh Liberation War
began with East Pakistan declaring independence as Bangladesh. Due to the violence in
Bangladesh, many of its residents sought refuge in India. The Prime Minister decided to intervene
in the civil war, India began supporting rebel troops in Bangladesh, in response, Pakistan attacked
an Indian military base in December of 1971. This attack was the official start of the war.After two
weeks of fighting the Pakistani troops in Bangladesh surrendered. This surrender effectively
established the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The war resulted in the highest number of
casualties of any Indo-Pakistani conflict.
5. Indo-Pakistani War of 1999 - Kargil War, took place between May and July. It began with the
infiltration of both Pakistani troops and terrorists into Indian territory. The infiltrators positioned
themselves in key locations, Based on information from local shepherds, the Indian Army was able
to ascertain the points of incursion and launch "Operation Vijay". Indian victory came at a high
price. The official death toll on the Indian side was 527, while that on the Pakistani side was
between 357 and 453. The Army declared the mission successful on July 26, 1999; since then the
day has been celebrated annually as Kargil Vijay Diwas.
LEC. TOPIC 92: PAK. POLITICS
TOP 5 POINT:

1. Till date, no civilian Prime Minister has completed a full, five year term in office
in Pakistan. The nation got independence on 14 Aug 1947 and on 11 September
1948, it's founder and father of nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah died of ill health and
first PM Liaquat Ali Khan also was unfortunate, PM Liaquat assassinated and the
first military coup happened in Pakistan.

2. On 27 October 1958, The then Army Chief Gen Ayub Khan seized power.
Military held its power over the nation till 20 Dec 1971. Gen Yahya Khan resigned
and the power got transferred to a politician- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Again Military
didn’t remain in Barack for long. The taste of ultimate power is an intoxication. On
5 July 1977 Zia ul Haq captured power and become President later assassinated. The
bloody saga of Pakistan continued. Bhutto was hanged on 4 Apr 1979.

3. Bhutto’s daughter, become PM on 18 November 1988. However, following the

tradition of Pakistan, she was dismissed after two years and on 24 1990, Nawaz
Sharif took over the reins. Benazir recaptured Power in 1993, again got dismissed.
The 'musical chair of power' again went to Shariff in 1997.

4. On 12 Oct 1999, Gen Parvez Musharraf seized power. On 27 December 2007, an

almost unbeaten Benazir, ready for a comeback, got assassinated in an election rally.
On 11 May 2013 Shariff became PM for third time. However, his luck ran out last
year. He was ousted by the Pak Supreme Court on charges of corruption and now on
his arrival for the 25 July 2018, present general election, he was jailed along with his
daughter Maryam.

5. The national cricket hero- Imran Khan, after he won the Cricket World Cup in
1992 as Captian is destined to take over the mantle as PM of Pakistan 2018. His
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI) party rode to power. There are a total of 342 seats in
the National Assembly. Of these, 272 are filled by direct elections, Constitution
reserves 10 seats for religious minorities and 60 seats for women. This general
election was the most bloody and violent Pak elections, till date. Almost 200 people
died and many hundreds injured due to intermittent bomb blasts, mostly in
Balochistan, masterminded by “ Islamic State(IS)”.

Election result 2018 Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led by Shehbaz

Sharif won 58 seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by Asif Ali Zardari won 37
seats and PTI led by Imran Khan won 115 seats.
LEC. TOPIC 93: BRICS
TOP 5 POINTS:
1. BRICS is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Initially four nations –
Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) Formed. BRIC was coined by global economist Jim
O'Neill in 2001 based on his thesis "the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China they
could be among the four most dominant economies by 2050". South Africa adjoined in 2010.

2. Key aim of the grouping was to establish an equitable, democratic and multi-polar world order.
IMF’s estimates, the BRICS countries generated 22.53 per cent of the world GDP in 2015 and they
have contributed more than 50 per cent of world economic growth.BRICS countries come from
Asia, Africa, Europe and America and are all members of the G20. In 2009, the first BRIC
Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

3. BRICS MAJOR DEVELOPMENT:

i. In 2012, the BRICS nations pledged $75 billion to boost International Monetary Fund (IMF).
ii. In 2013, BRICSagreed to create a global financial institution
iii.In 2014 BRICS stated that they planned to finalise the arrangements for this New Development
Bank.

4. BRICS-2018:
Theme for the 10th BRICS Summit is “Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity
in the 4th Industrial Revolution”.From July 25-27, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. New areas
of BRICS cooperation are Establishment of a Working Group on Peacekeeping, BRICS Gender
and Women’s Forum, Advancing the 4th Industrial Revolution and BRICS Tourism Track of
Cooperation.

5. PM Modi said there is need to be vigilant about the adverse impact of the disruptive
technologies on the economies of the developing nations. And focus on skill development and
vocational training to reap the benefits of 4th industrial revolution.
[11:11 PM, 7/28/2018] RAGAV ASHOK: The first Industrial Revolution was characterized by
steam and water. The second Industrial Revolution was the introduction of electricity to mass
produce things. The third is characterized by the internet, communication technologies, and the
digitalization of everything. The fourth Industrial Revolution is the concept of blurring the real
world with the technological world.

LEC. TOPIC 94: CYBER SECURITY AND CYBER TERRORISM

TOP 5 POINT:

1. CYBER SECURITY- Refers to process and mechanism that ensure protection of

computer –based information against unauthorized access, transfer, destruction
whether intentional or accidental.
CYBER TERRORISM- A large scale disruption of computer networks, especially
personal computer connected to internet by computer viruses.

2. Cyber security threats such as hacking, malware, cyber crime, cyber terrorism,
data theft etc., Cyber terrorism threats to cause harm social, idealogical, religious,
political.

3. Cyber security prevention:

i. IT amendment act 2008 set up an Inter Dept Information Security Task
Force(ISTF)
ii. Computer Emergency Response Team(CERT-In) established to respond cyber
security.
iii. Nationwide Information security education awareness program has been
developed.

4. Forms of Cyber Terrorism:

i. Terrorist Propaganda- It is spreading a feeling of fear and therefore adequate
coverage in the media is very important to succeed.
ii. Privacy Violation- Stealing the password, encryption keys, images, videos,
sensitive file.
iii. Attack on Govt Properties- Govt maintain large database connected to the
internet relating to defence, national security and information of public(AADHAR).
AADHAR is a serious threat to the nation having biometric data of a nation we all
are just a number, if data leaks it will swipe our all property and make us dummy.

5. Cyber Terrorism Prevention:

IT act 2000governs Indian law regarding privacy violations, Information theft,
network damage and disruptions. Council of Europe convention on cybercrime 2004
first international treaty for fighting against computer crime.

LEC. TOPIC 95: National Register for Citizens (NRC)

TOP 5 POINT:

1. NRC- Contains the names of Indian citizens across India and was prepared after
the Census of 1951. Assam the first Indian state where the NRC is being updated
after 1951 because of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, commenced in Assam since
May, 2015. Names of 2.9 crore people who could prove citizens of India before 24th
March 1971, the day before Bangladesh declared independence.

2. A total of 40 lakh people have been rendered stateless, who not been able to
provide requisite documents as proof of their citizenship are Doubtful-voters (D-
voters). The first draft of the NRC for Assam was published on 31st December
2017.The first draft of the NRC included the names of 1.9 crore people, out of the
total 3.29 crore applicants in Assam, recognizing them as legalized citizens of the
State. Final Draft of the National Register for Citizens (NRC) for the State of Assam
was published on 30 July 2018, final draft of NRC for Assam is believed to be Rs
1,220 crore.

3. Events Leading up to NRC:

i. Assam is well endowed with natural resources like oil, natural gas and Assam tea.
East Bengal, now Bangladesh started drifting for better opportunities to Assam and
West Bengal. Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya all states are
carved out of Assam to accommodate territorial aspirations of Nagas, Khasis, Mizos
and Garos, respectively.

ii. Worst was the one that happened at Merapani, Golagahat, when 70 Assamese
were killed in 1979 and 50 died during the clashes in 1985. And 2012 violent Bodo-
Muslim clashes led to the death of 103 and displaced 4.85 lakh people belonging to
both communities. The All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana
Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) spearheaded the ‘Assam Agitation’ against illegal
immigrants in Assam.

4. ADVATAGES OF NRC:

i. NRC will lead to identification of illegal migrants and huge chunk of vote bank,
especially Muslims from Bangladesh, will become invalid.

ii. Assam will become violence-free as the question of illegal migrants would be
resolved

5. CHALLENGES OF NRC:

i. NRC updated owing to doubts over the credibility of 1951 census and cause
injustice to many people.
ii. Bangladesh is already struggling to accommodate Rohingya Muslims from
Myanmar. It is unlikely to accept any more illegal migrants from India. Massive
exercise for administration to accommodate a large number of illegal migrants after
the NRC has been updated.
LEC. TOPIC 96: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE(AI)
TOP 5 POINT:

1. AI comes from computer systems that have been programmed to perform- or learn to perform-
various tasks normally, otherwise, performed by human intelligence. In 1956 John McCarthy who
coined the therm at MIT, AI is a combination of Computer science engineering, physiology and
philosophy

2. The scope and potential of AI is limitless in the futuristic world. May be fifty years down the
lane, we may find most of the dangerous and risky jobs of mankind taken over by robots,
performing par- excellence. For example, in a war,foot soldiers could be robots programmed to
fight and kill and physically capture territories.

3. EXPERTS VIEW ON AI:

i. Theoretical Physicist Stephen Hawking' had told BBC in 2014-" the development
of full Artificial Intelligence could spell the end of the human race".
ii. In another interesting incident Microsoft was forced to shut down its Chatbot
named 'Tay', within 16 hours of launching it in March 2016 after 'Tay' became
naughty and quickly learnt and tweeted ' offensive material ',to the utter
bewilderment of its creators.
iii. In June 2017 Face Book shut down one of its advanced AI programmes ,
apparently because things "went out of control " with two Chatbots ( chatting
Robots) that had started to talk to each other in an alien language, humans could not
understand.

4. Merits of AI:
i. Used to take complex and stress full work can be used in war, bomb squad
ii. AI can help identify diseases much better, faster and be a boon in medical
research.
iii. Minimize time and resources

5.Demerits of AI:
i. Making millions of people jobless
ii. A repetition of Industrial Revolution which swept over the world bringing great
famines and economic depressions.
iii. A super intelligent entity that is beyond human control and it may be end of the
human race.

LEC. TOPIC 97: FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI)

TOP 5 POINT:

1. FDI is the investment by foreign companies in our country, primarily FDI involved in
infrastructure like airports, ports etc. Later involved in healthcare, retail, hotels, defense,
foods, broadcasting and so on. FDI in one hand creates local employment and in other hand
will close livelihood of medium enterprises of 40 million people.

2. NDA government announced 'Big Bang' FDI reforms to ease.The aim to promote FDI
simplification of the process of foreign investments in the country and to put more and
more FDI proposals on ‘automatic route’ instead of ‘Government route’. ‘Govt route’
involves obtaining clearances and approval of the government authorities for investments
by a foreign company in India. However, the ‘automatic route’ which may or may not have
operations abroad and also may not have any downstream investments, Government
approval will not be required for its activities.

3. INDIA REPLACE CHINA AS TOP FDI:

FDI investment in 2015, 2016 and 2017, the US reclaimed the spot from India, recording
USD 87.4 billion of announced Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). China received foreign
capital investment of USD 50.8 billion in 2017.

4. ADVANTAGES:
i. Employment generation
ii. Quality of products and flow of technology- Modern technologies brought by the foreign
companies into India will give the much needed boost to the Indian industries and make
them more competitive in the world.
iii.Increase in government revenue- The revenue earned by the government is estimated to
be increased by about 25-30 million dollars.

5. DIS-ADVANTAGES:
i. Disappearance of small scale industries
ii. Contribution to the pollution
iii. Political corruption
iv. Impact on Farmers
v. Inflation
LEC. TOPIC 98: 1G TO 4G COMMUNICATION:
TOP 5 POINT:

1. The “fast wireless mobile telecommunication” technologies are referred to as 1G, radio
signals used by 1G network are analog. 2G systems are efficient on the spectrum allowing
for far greater “mobile phone penetration levels; and 2G introduced data services for
mobile, starting with SMS” (Short Message Service) plain text-based messages, it enable
the various mobile phone networks to provide the services such as sms and MMS
(Multimedia Message Service). Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were
commercially launched on the GSM

2. 3G technology ensures it can be applied to wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet

access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV technologies.
Provides an information transfer rate of at least 200 kbit/s. 3G provide access of
several smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers.

3. 4G will supersede 2G and 3G that satisfies the requirement of IMT(International Mobile

Telecommunication) standard, as defined by ITU(International Telecommunication Unit).
According to IMT and ITU 4G must have data transfer speed of up to approximately
100MBps for mobile user and 1GBps for fixed users. 4G lauched on LTE (Long Term
Evolution) is a wireless broadband technology.

4&5. General Information:

 GPRS- General Packet Radio Service mobile data standard on the 2G and 3G cellular
communication network's global system for mobile communications (GSM). Data rates of
56-114 kbps.
 EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Evolution) GPRS and EDGE are 3G technology data rates
upto 384 kbps.
 The main two 3G standards are UMTS and CDMA:
UMTS(Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) data rates up to 2 Mbps currently
used in BSNL and MTNL. CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) which allows
numerous signals to occupy a single transmission channel, optimizing the use of available
bandwidth.
LEC. TOPIC 99: Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
:
TOP 5 POINT:

1. The NSG is a multinational body comprising of 48 members states, which is concerned

with reducing nuclear Proliferation by controlling the “export and re-transfer of materials
that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development” and by improving safeguards and
protection on existing materials. NSG was founded in response to the first nuclear test
conducted by India in May 1974.

2. NPT(Non-Proliferation Treaty) entered in 1970 a total of 191 states have joined the Treaty
Four UN member states never joined the NPT: India, Israel, Pakistan and Sudan. Prime
objectives of NPT is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to
promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

3. Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) which states agree to ban all nuclear
explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes. It has been signed by 71
states.However, the CTBT has not entered into force as eight specific states have not
ratified the Treaty yet, India, North Korea and Pakistan have not signed it. India is among
the few countries, which follow a self-imposed “no first use” policy, a pledge not to use
nuclear weapons unless first attacked by an adversary(enemy) using nuclear weapons.

4. India’s Push for NSG Membership:

India greater access to the international nuclear market, and will opening up nuclear
commerce for fuelling its reactors, medicine and nuclear power plant. India had applied for
NSG membership in May 2016. Concurrently, Pakistan also applied for the same. Many
see the move as an apparent attempt to block India's Membership to the NSG.

5. Opposition to India’s NSG Membership:

China has already announced its opposition to permit Non-NPT members into the NSG and
is poised to resist consideration of India’s NSG membership. China’s opposition is broadly
based along two lines: firstly, keeping India out of the nuclear club, being its major
competitor in the economic arena and contender for nuclear material to fuel its reactors,
and secondly, keeping Pakistan pegged with India for admission into NSG, so that a
positive vote can never come through, considering the dubious background of Pakistan.
LEC. TOPIC 100: Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), Australia Group(AG), MTCR

TOP 5 POINT:

1. The Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) is an elite club of countries who subscribe to

regulate the trade of dual use technologies, e.g. connected with nuclear energy and
control the export of such arms and material. India has been admitted as the
42nd member of the elite export control regime, called the Wassenaar Arrangement
(WA) on 07 December 2017. Headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Other than China, all
permanent members of the UN Security Council are its signatories.

2. Implications of Admission into WA for India:

o Facilitate of hi-tech items for Indian defence and space programmes.

o Boost India’s chances for admission into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as
it is a non-signatory of NPT.
o Assist India to bolster bilateral ties with countries like Russia and France, which
supported its membership to the organisation.

3. Australia Group(AG) aim to stop spread of chemical and biological weapons. which
was established in 1985 after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984 to help
member countries to identify those exports which need to be controlled so as not to
contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons. On 19 January 2018 India
formally became the 43rd member of the Australia Group (AG) .

4. Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is an informal political understanding

among states that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology.
MTCR aims to control the delivery systems of nuclear, chemical and biological
weapons. It encourages members not to export missiles or technology which is capable
of delivering any weapon of mass destruction, with special focus on missiles capable of
carrying a 500-kg payload over 300 km or more.

5. India joining on 27th of June 2016 becomes the 35th member of the MTCR, The only
one remaining is the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which is stonewalled due Chinese
objections. MTCR membership will enable India to buy high-end missile technology
and also enhance its joint ventures with Russia.