Table of Contents

World Social Protection Report 2017- International Labour Organisation

Could also be viewed as a blueprint for action by political parties of the mainstream.
• 1)-Risks such as ill health,
• 2)-Unemployment,
• 3)-Occupational injuries,
• 4)-Disability, and
• 5)-Old age.
Vast majority of people (4 billion) live without any safeguard
Less than half (45.2%) have guaranteed access to only one social protection benefit
More than half the population in rural areas are not covered by universal health programmes,
As compared to less than a quarter in urban locations.
Goal of comprehensive social security coverage remains a mere slogan in many parts of the world.
Public investment in social security is critical to eradicate poverty, boost economic growth, and reduce inequality.
Targets under the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
To meet the 2025 target of eradicating child labour.
Only 27.8% of persons with severe disabilities worldwide receive appropriate support.
Levels of support are not adequate enough even to lift people out of poverty,
Universal coverage is beyond the reach of poor countries.
Government’s recent budget a precondition for $2.9
billion loan from the IMF.
Lower petrol subsidies and higher taxes on cars and utilities are among the measures proposed to reduce the •fiscal deficit, currently at
6% of GDP, to 4.9% by the year-end.
Further fuelling anger are the 25% youth unemployment rate, twice national average
Tourism- sectors worst – hit
Recent years and the 2015 terrorist attacks.
Police action have, understandably, led to comparisons withTunisia’s 2011
European Union nations in particular have an interest in promoting political and economic stability, in the light of migrant outflows from North Africa to the continent.

Problem of plenty

Agricultural policy should look to address the problem of severe price fluctuations
Last few weeks,across India price of potatoes has fallen sharply after a year of bumper production.
Kilogram of potato dropping as low as under a rupee in certain wholesale markets
Many distressed farmers have left their produce to rot on the roads, and in cold storage facilities
Potato prices were many times higher just months ago amid scarce supply
Last year price other produce like red chilli, tur dal and tomato witnessed a similar trend of steep falls compared to the previous season
Cycle repeats each passing year
Cobweb phenomenon- Supply and demand
Prices comes against the backdrop of a slowdown in the rural economy.
According to advance GDP estimates released by the government last week, farm growth is expected to drop from 4.9% in 2016-17 to 2.1% in 2017-18
States go to polls, local governments could turn towards populism to satisfy their rural voter base.
1)- Farm loan waivers,
2)-A higher minimum support price for farm produce, or
3)-Some combination of the two
Next Union budget may well be focussed on the rural economy
Such relief measures that temporarily ease the pain on farmers
Any permanent solution to the problem of agricultural distress will have to deal with the challenge of price fluctuations.
Need to give farmers not just a better, but also more stable, return on their crops.

Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis

Page-1,9- Deepak Unnikrishnan winsThe Hindu Prize
Deepak Unnikrishnan, a teacher at NewYork University Abu Dhabi, wonThe
Hindu Prize, 2017, for his novel Temporary People, a book that was described as bringing a “keen insight into the heartrending plight of the „guest workers‟ in the UAE.”
Page-1-
Page-1- Face recognition for Aadhaar validation
The Unique Identi•cation Authority of India (UIDAI) said on Monday that it would enable Aadhaar authentication using face recognition from July 1.
existing mode of authentication such as •fingerprint, iris or one-time password (OTP).
Page-1,13- Israel seeks „big data‟ from India
Israel proposed to track individual Indian farmers, even as both sides joined hands to use a similar data-driven method to fight cyber crimes.

Page-1– No puja without helmet, temple priests tell bikers

Odisha police rope in pujaris at the highly revered Maa Sarala temple to enforce helmet rule.
Page- China slams Rawat’s statement
SaysArmy chief ’s comments do not conform to the spirit of Xiamen talks
During last week’s press conference, Gen. Rawat said India needed to shift its military focus from its western border with Pakistan to its northern border with China.
He had observed that if China was strong, India was not
weak either.