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▪ The Chang’e-4 lunar probe, launched in December, made the “soft landing” at 02.26 GMT and transmitted the first-ever “close range” image of the far side of the moon, the China National Space Administration said.
▪ The moon is tidally locked to Earth, rotating at the same rate as it orbits our planet, so most of the far side — or “dark side” — is never visible to us. Previous spacecraft have seen the far side, but none has landed on it. The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits planet Earth and is Earth’s only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest natural satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits (its primary). The Moon is after Jupiter’s satellite Io the second-densest satellite in the Solar System among those whose densities are known. The Moon is thought to have formed about 4.51 billion years ago, not long after Earth. The most widely accepted explanation is that the Moon formed from the debris left over after a giant impact between Earth and a Mars-sized body called Theia. After the Sun, the Moon is the secondbrightest regularly visible celestial object in Earth’s sky.

Chang’e 4 is a Chinese lunar exploration mission that achieved the first soft-landing on the far side of the Moon, on 3 January 2019.
A communication relay satellite, Queqiao, was first launched to a halo orbit near the Earth-Moon L2 point in May 2018.
The robotic lander and rover were launched on 7 December 2018 and entered orbit around the Moon on 12 December 2018. The lander touched down on the far side of the Moon on 3 January 2019.
It became the first spacecraft to soft-land on the far side of the Moon.
The mission is the followup to Chang’e 3, the first Chinese landing on the Moon. The spacecraft was originally built as a backup for Chang’e 3 and became available after Chang’e 3 landed successfully in 2013.
The configuration of Chang’e 4 was adjusted to meet new scientific objectives. • Like its predecessors, the mission is named after Chang’e, the Chinese Moon goddess. A Lagrange point is a location in space where the combined gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as Earth and the sun or Earth and the moon, equal the centrifugal force felt by a much smaller third body
. ▪ The first man-made object to reach the Moon was the unmanned Soviet probe Luna 2, which made a hard landing on September 14, 1959,
▪ The far side of the Moon was first photographed on October 7, 1959, by the Soviet probe Luna
Moon is tidally locked to Earth The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, and thus always shows the same side to Earth, the near side

Chandrayaan-2 is India’s second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1

. Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the mission is planned to be launched to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III). It includes a lunar orbiter, lander and rover, all developed by India Chandrayaan-2 is scheduled to be launched in Feb/March 2019, and will attempt to soft land a lander and rover in a high plain between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70° south. If successful, Chandrayaan-2 will be the first-ever mission to land a rover near the lunar south pole on 25 September 2009, ISRO announced that the MIP, an instrument on board Chandrayaan-
1, had discovered water on the Moon just before impact and had discovered it 3 months before NASA’s M3

‘RERAs will be toothless without judicial powers’

Several Real Estate Regulatory Authorities (RERAs) are pushing for more enforcement power, similar to what is enjoyed by consumer forums, including the authority to issue arrest warrants. At the first meeting of a new RERA implementation committee held on Thursday, there was broad consensus that the RERA Act needed to be amended to further empower them. “State RERA representatives say they are becoming toothless, if they are unable to execute their own orders,” said an attendee, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There was a consensus in favour of more powers, but the details have not been thrashed out yet.” The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, allows consumer forums to assume the powers of a first class judicial magistrate for the trial of offences under the Act (Section 27.2).
RERAs are asking that the RERA Act be amended to give them similar powers. The HAL Tejas is an Indian singleseat, single-jet engine, multirole light fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India’s ageing MiG-21 fighters. In 2003, the LCA was officially named “Tejas” Improved Light Combat Aircraft gets green light for production FOC tag signals that the indigenous fighter is fully equipped and fit for battle; delivery of first aircraft expected in October-November 2019

Hindustan Aeronautics Limted (HAL), which is mandated to produce the LCAs for the Indian Air Force (IAF), aims to get the first aircraft out in late 2019 in the just-cleared standard, its Chairman and Managing Director R. Madhavan said.
The LCA is being designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in Bengaluru
. ▪ The IAF has asked HAL to make 40 LCA aircraft. Of this, 20 will be in the advanced ‘FOC’ (final operational clearance) format. Another 20 are in the earlier IOC (initial operational clearance) version.
The FOC tag signals that the novice LCA is fully equipped and fit for battle
. It adds many features over the IOC version, which Tejas achieved in December 2013.
The IOC enabled the IAF to start flying it and in getting acquainted with its competences.
Until then, only test pilots and ADA handled Tejas Basic concept: Executive (Government) needs the approval of Legislature (Parliament) for spending! The government needs money for its functioning. Even though government collects money from the public by means of various taxes, for the expenditure of the same, it needs approval from Legislature. Article 266 of the Constitution of India mandates that Parliamentary approval is required to draw money from the Consolidated Fund of India. Besides, Article 114 (3) of the Constitution stipulates that no amount can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund without the enactment of a law (appropriation bill). The Parliamentary Approval takes its time! The full budget is usually passed only after long discussions. Even though the government (executive) seeks approval of expenditure for the next financial year (April 1 to March 31) in the current financial year itself, the approval from legislature takes its time. But the government needs money for its day to day functions… Since Parliament is not able to vote the entire budget before the commencement of the new financial year, the necessity to keep enough finance at the disposal of Government. A special provision is, therefore, made for “Vote on Account” by which Government obtains the Vote of Parliament for a sum sufficient to incur expenditure on various items for a part of the year.

Vote on Account

Vote on Account is a grant in advance to enable the government to carry on until the voting of demands for grants and the passing of the Appropriation Bill and Finance Bill. This enables the government to fund its expenses for a short period of time or until a full-budget is passed. Normally, the Vote on Account is taken for two months only. The sum of the grant would be equivalent to one sixth of the estimated expenditure for the entire year under various demands for grants. As a convention, a vote-on-account is treated as a formal matter and passed by Lok Sabha without discussion. . During election year or when it is anticipated that the main Demands and Appropriation Bill will take longer time than two months, the Vote on Account may be for a period exceeding two months An Interim budget in all practical sense is a full budget, but made by the government during the last year of its term – ie. just before election. An interim Budget is a complete set of accounts, including both expenditure and receipts. But it may not contain big policy proposals. During an election year, the ruling government generally opts for a vote-onaccount or interim budget instead of a full budget. While technically, it is not mandatory for the government to present a vote-on-account, but it would be inappropriate to impose policies that may or may not be acceptable to the incoming government taking over in the same year. The government expects a recovery of about ₹70,000 crore from the 12 big companies that were identified for bankruptcy proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, by March 31, 2019
All proceedings under the Companies Act, including proceedings relating to Arbitration, Compromise, arrangements and reconstruction and winding up of companies shall be disposed of by the National Company Law Tribunal.
The National Company Law Tribunal is the Adjudicating Authority for Insolvency resolution process of Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The NCLT has the power under the Companies Act to adjudicate proceedings:
. Initiated before the Company Law Board under the previous act (the Companies Act 1956);
Pending before the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), including those pending under the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985;
Pending before the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction; and
Pertaining to claims of oppression and mismanagement of a company, winding up of companies and all other powers prescribed under the Companies Act. Decisions of the NCLT may be appealed to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The decisions of NCLAT may be appealed to the Supreme Court of India.
Angel Investor
Angel Tax Editorials ▪ Globally, the growth rate in 2018 was high, particularly in the United States. ▪ But strong signs of a trade war emerged, dimming hopes of faster international trade. ▪ Britain is passing through the pangs of separation from the European Union.
▪ Domestically, the first quarter growth rate was high. ▪ But signs are not good for the balance of the year.
▪ The rupee underwent a severe shock as crude oil prices rose, and abated after a fall in oil prices.
▪ While prices fell, agrarian distress accentuated. India’s growth rate in 2018-19 is forecast at 7.4% by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). But it looks to be a touch-and-go situation Even though the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has stabilized, much will depend on the pickup in the investment rate
The international environment is not that conducive for growth in our foreign trade; this will have an impact on our exports and, therefore, growth. • Perhaps the growth rate will be between 7.2% and 7.5%.
Though this may be the highest growth rate of any country, it falls short of our requirements. A frequently used tool that explain the relationship between the level of investment made in the economy and the consequent increase in GDP is capital output ratio. The concept of capital output ratio expresses the relationship between the value of capital invested and the value of output. Investment ratio In the final analysis, the growth rate depends on the investment rate and the productivity of capital or its inverse incremental capital-output ratio. For ensuring a sustained high growth, we need to raise the investment ratio and keep the incremental capital-output ratio at 4.
Capital output ratio is the amount of capital needed to produce one unit of output. • For example, suppose that investment in an economy, investment is 32% (of GDP), and the economic growth corresponding to this level of investment is 8%. • Here, a Rs 32 investment produces an output of Rs 8. Capital output ratio is 32/8 or 4. • In other words, to produce one unit of output, 4 unit of capital is needed. • But don’t forget that the Rs 32 invested in the form of machineries will remain there for around ten or twelve years. Such a machinery will be giving Rs 1 output in every year.
The Gross Fixed Capital Formation ratio has fallen from 35.8% in 2007-08 to 28.5% in 2017-18.
The journey to raise the investment ratio is not going to be easy. ‘Animal spirits’ must be revived. • A tranquil political and economic environment needs to be nurtured. Banking system
An important factor affecting economic growth is the condition of our banking system. ▪ Non-performing assets (NPAs), including stressed assets, as a proportion of loans of public sector banks stood at 16.7% as of March 2018.
▪ As many as 11 public sector banks are under Prompt Corrective Action (PCA).
This restricts the lending abilities of these banks. ▪ Added to this, the non banking financial company (NBFC) system is also under stress. ▪ This is partly a reflection of the stress in the banking system since most NBFCs borrow from banks. ▪ Recapitalisation of public sector banks will partly solve the problem.
It is not clear at this point how much it will help in adding to lending capacity. Employment growth • There is a great concern about the inadequate growth of employment • We need to keep two factors in mind. • Growth can occur either as a result of increase in investment or because of better utilization of existing capacity. • It is growth which is led by new investment that leads to a significant increase in employment. But growth caused by improved efficiency of utilisation of existing capital can lead only to a marginal increase in employment. • Much of the growth seen in the last few years is of the latter variety. • the increase in employment seen in the period between 2004-05 and 2009-10 was because of the rapid growth of the information technology (IT) and financial sectors. The IT sector has slowed down. • India’s external sector has grown and is well integrated with the rest of the world. • India’s trade in goods and services as a percentage of GDP has grown to 42% of GDP. • Therefore, what happens in the rest of the world affects India’s growth very much. • India’s balance of payment situation has been comfortable since liberalisation. • However, there are vulnerabilities as seen in September-October 2018, when the value of the rupee suddenly plummeted when crude oil prices rose and there were simultaneously capital outflows. • RBI intervention and the subsequent fall in crude prices have restored the value of the rupee. • In April-November 2018, India’s exports of goods grew by 11.6%. However, we need to note that exports growth was 5.2% (2016-17) and 9.8% (2017-18). • Strong growth in exports is a must if we have to keep the current account deficit (CAD) at a manageable level.

Agrarian distress •

The future growth also depends on the performance of agriculture. Agrarian distress is widespread Strangely, the fall in prices of agricultural products is in one sense a reflection of our success in raising output. Some years ago, the concern was a rise in the price of pulses to abnormally high levels. But today the picture is reversed. Thanks to increase in production, prices have fallen.
Similar is the case with respect to vegetables, particularly onion. The need of agriculturists is income in current prices.
The solution to the fall in prices lies in government intervening in the market and buying off the surplus over normal levels
The market will then automatically take prices to the normal leve
The important requirement in this context is not only the financial capacity of the government to procure but also adequate physical arrangements to procure and store.

The procured agricultural products can be sold by the government in later years when output is low or utilised in any safety net programme.
Loan waivers are at best short-term solutions.
The fundamental problem is one of increasing productivity and enabling farmers to achieve increased output and better prices

. There is also a basic weakness that we have to address.

The average size of landholding is so small that any amount of increase in productivity will not give adequate income.
Farmers have to think in terms of consolidation of landholdings so that they can get the benefits of larger size. Small farmers will also have to think in terms of higher value-added products like vegetables. A combined attack to increase productivity, consolidate landholdings and improve marketing is needed to assure farmers of better income.

Thus there are five concerns as we stand at the beginning of 2019. These are:

Raising the investment ratio;
Putting the banking system back on the rails;
Employment generation through better growth;
Enhancing export growth to contain the CAD; and
Removing agrarian distress by increasing productivity and consolidation of small landholdings. These issues need to be addressed comprehensively, if we have to achieve sustained high growth.

Mains Answer writing

- Comment on the present unemployment issue with respect to demographic dividend and how the employment scenario can be improved with the help of technological skilling and what needs to be done (200 words)
- Are loan waivers the good solution for farmers and what needs to be done to give them a decent life in the shortest period of time.(200 words)