Table of Contents
How to rule Delhi
The SC clarifies an elected government cannot be undermined by an unelected administrator
L-G bound by „aid and advice‟ of Delhi govt., says Constitution Bench
People are sovereign, says SC
Supreme Court has restored the primary role played by the “representative government”
Elected Assembly with powers to enact laws in all matters falling under the State and Concurr
ent lists, with the exception of public order, police and land This gave it a status higher than other Uts.
Until now, the situation was tilted in favor of the Center because of the Lt. Governor‟s claim
that he had the authority to refer any matter to the President.
Supreme Court has ruled that the Lt. Governor has to ordinarily act on the aid and advice
of the Council of Ministers.
At the same time, it has retained the Lt. Governor‟s powers to refer matters to the
President for a decision- However
The power to refer “any matter” to the President no longer means “every matter”
Continue
The „reference‟ clause may give rise to conflict even now.
It has not given an exhaustive list of matters that can be referred
D.Y. Chandrachud, “encompass substantial issues of finance and policy which impact upon
the status of the national capital or implicate vital interests of the Union.
It has ruled out Mr. Kejriwal‟s demand of full statehood, and the critical powers
— over police, land and public order — still remain vested with the Centre
The basic message is that an elected government cannot be undermined by an unelected
administrator.
The larger one is that the Union and its units should embrace a collaborative federal
architecture for co-existence and inter-dependence
Flood of despair
Mumbai‟s capacity to deal with nature‟s challenges is falling with every passing year
Mumbai is an efficient city in some ways, but this reputation depends on fair weather
Collapse of a pedestrian bridge on a crucial railway line in Andheri, causing injuries
and overall urban paralysis.
Not even a year has passed since the ghastly stampede on a foot overbridge at Elphinstone
Road station, that took over 20 lives.
Infrastructure are proof of the indifference among policymakers to the city‟s needs, even as
they speak of a „global standard‟ of living.
It is fair to ask whether Mumbai is prepared, after the passage of a dozen years, to meet
a disaster such as the July 2005 flooding caused by 99.4 cm of rain in a 24-hour period.
Continue
The city continues to attract a large number of people looking for opportunity the population
rose from 11.9 million in 2001 to 18.4 million a decade later.
If Maharashtra has to achieve higher rates of economic growth and touch an ambitious 10%,
as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis desires, Mumbai‟s infrastructure planning should be
in hands of an empowered custodian who can secure the cooperation of all urban agencies
According to one estimate, the city‟s Mithi river, blocked by debris and garbage
Supreme Court monitoring committee has not helped much.
It will take resolute measures to stop the release of sewage and industrial chemicals into the
Mithi, and retrieve lost mangroves.
In a 2015 study, the World Bank found that half of the poor did not consider moving out of
flood-prone areas, because of the uncertainty of living in a new place
Inspections must be regularly carried out and quick remedial steps taken.
Continue
On April 13, the new Breach Level Index, released by digital security firm Gemalto, reported a
783% increase in cases of data theft in India in 2017.
Most compromised or stolen records belonged to the government, which was followed by
the retail and technology sectors.
Globally, sectors which were hit the most by data theft in 2017 were healthcare (27%),
financial services (12%), education (11%) and government (11%).
In terms of the number of records lost, stolen or compromised, the most targeted sectors
were government (18%), financial services (9.1%) and technology (16%)
Illegal data mining apart, the RBI reported a 35% increase (from 8,765 cases to 11,997) in ATM
credit, debit card and net banking related fraud cases between 2012-13 and 2015-16 even as concerns about data theft from the Unique Identification Authority of India persisted.
Continue
With India‟s Internet users expected to hit the 500 million mark this year, dispelling data anxi
eties remains a key challenge. Y.V. Reddy, former RBI Governor and Chairman of the 14th FC
of India, said,
“There is an anxiety that financial and private activities of individuals are being monitored for profit by a third party.
Developing trust in government to protect citizens is 1st step towards reducing people‟s fears.
Though Supreme Court ruled in August 2017 that the right to privacy is a fundamental right
the question remains.
Fuel: getting the mix right
The government must roll back taxes on fuel and increase ethanol supply
Current policies lack a solid foundation, substance and a practical approach
Nothing major has been done to reduce toxic emissions and ease fuel prices.
As things stand, in States like Odisha, the fuel blending rate is 0% and there is no explanation
for this- And it is not just Odisha.
Changing goalposts- National Policy on Biofuels (NPB).
In 2003, the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme (EBP) focussed on 5%
By 2008, it pushed for the blending target to be 10%- These targets were not met.
2009, the NPB proposed a revised target of 20% blending for ethanol and biodiesel by 2017
Fuel blending with ethanol varies from 85% (E85) in Australia to vehicles run on 100% (E100)
ethanol in Brazil.
Continue
In contrast, India has an abysmal 2-4% blending rate and is woefully short of the original
target of 5% due to the inconsistent supply of domestically produced ethanol.
Many States like Odisha have not even started their innings on fuel blending.
Solution to air pollution,
Maintain affordable transportation fuel prices,
Promote clean and sustainable fuels,
Move towards energy self-sufficiency, and
Reduce dependence on crude oil imports
National Policy on Biofuels 2018 repeats the pattern of promising the moon and delivering
little.- There is no defined future road map for India in it- At a time when
the who has already declared 14 Indian cities as among the most polluted in the world
These corrections in policy will lead to lower fuel prices, cleaner air, foreign currency
savings and efficiency in the oil economy.
Today- Question- 150-250 words
Are Indian universities finally awakening to the challenges of the 21st century? Explain
Opening up to the world
More needs to be done to internationalise higher education
Since Independence, the challenges of building a mass higher education system with inadeq
uate government funding has meant poor quality, increasing privatisation and politicisation.
Excellence is possible, as the IITs and IIMs show, although it is limited to a tiny segment of a system.
Towards innovation -The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), implemented
in 2016, is India‟s first government-supported ranking of colleges and universities.
It may in the future guide government financial support for higher education.
It also provides the basis for differentiating among colleges and universities, permitting
government to make key decisions.
Unsurprisingly, there are allegations that a few private institutions manipulate the process.
Continue
Institutions of Eminence (IoE) project and the Graded Autonomy project.
The IoE project will recognise 20 universities, 10 public and 10 private, and provide
significant government funds to the public institutions (no extra money to the privates) and
give enhanced autonomy for them.
Traditionally, colleges and universities have been restricted from deep international
collaboration, and there has been little emphasis on attracting international students —
only 47,575 international students study in India compared to the almost 400,000 in China
India is moving towards signing a pact on mutual recognition of academic qualifications
with 30 countries.
Recently a government-to-government MoU was signed between India and France to
mutually recognize academic qualifications, a historic development.
Continue
Study in India initiative and proposals relating to relationships between Indian and foreign
institutions are useful beginnings.
But more thinking must go into these ideas.
India has the advantage of using English as the main language of higher education.
At least several innovative programmes, backed by government, are in the works.
Implementing them effectively remains the key challenge.
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
Page-1- MSP for paddy hiked by ₹2•0
Historic increase, says Prime Minister
In keeping with the promise made in this year‟s Budget speech, the Union Cabinet
has approved a hike in minimum support prices (MSPs) for kharif crops so that they
are 50% higher than the cost of production, not including land costs.
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
Page-1- Horrified by fake news: WhatsApp
Service provider says it is working with fact-checking organisations to identify rumours
Responding to the government‟s letter on Tuesday asking it to prevent the misuse of
its platform, WhatsApp has said it is taking a number of steps to tackle the issue of
fake messages, including testing a new label that lets a user know if a message is a
forward.
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
Page-1- Bollywood‟s biggest piracy khiladis
Pirated downloads of Hindi films grew by 250% and 100% in Tanzania, Ireland
The global popularity of Bollywood films has never been in doubt. Yet,
overseas revenues constitute just 8% of the industry‟s turnover.
Perhaps one of the reasons for this anomaly could be that a sizable volume of
the Bollywood content consumed overseas is in pirated form.
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
Nipah transmission route unclear
Clarity on link needed to prevent future outbreaks.
Last Day- Q’s- Answers…
Rabindranath Tagore
• Nobal prize:- Literature
• In:- 1913
World’s 2nd youngest Grandmaster:- R Praggnanandhaa- From:- Chennai
Name of border b/w Pakistan & Afghanistan:- Durand Line
Mother of All Bombs:- GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast
THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) Missile system
Ottawa – It is the capital of Canada
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