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Shimla Agreement

Bending the rules

National GreenTribunal suspended the environmental clearance granted to the
India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO),
ExpertAppraisal Committee of Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has
overturned the NGT verdict and granted environmental clearance for the project.
Come up in BodiWest Hills in Tamil Nadu
Symbol not just of India‟s push for research in particle physics.
Neutrinos are subatomic particles that are extremely difficult to detect
 Laboratory cavern will be located 1,300 metres underground, with an access tunnel.
Rock cover is necessary to minimise the naturally occurring cosmic ray backdrop.
Controversial -Mathikettan Shola National Park in Kerala‟s Western Ghats
However, considering the project‟s national importance, the Environment Ministry
had taken up the proposal for clearance as a “special case”.
Green signal is conditional on getting the consent of the
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and
National Board forWildlife.
Construction projects under Schedule to the Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) Notification, 2006
EIA was done by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History
Treating it as a special case and bypassing the environmental clearance protocol sets a wrong precedent

First step in a long journey

National Medical Commission Bill
Indian Medical Association getting ready later this month to challenge the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017 (now before a parliamentary standing committee), it is pertinent to look at the Bill‟s highlights.
Article 47 of the Constitution makes it clear that the state is duty-bound to improve public health, but India continues to face a health crisis, with an absolute shortage of and an inequitable presence of doctors and overburdened hospitals.
 India has 10 lakh medical doctors, it needs 3,00,000 more in order to meet World Health Organisation standard of the ideal doctor-population ratio.
There is an 81% shortage of specialists in community health centres (CHC)
Most affected by this are poor and rural patients
Another fact is that 82.2% of providers of “modern medicine” in rural areas do not have a
medical qualification.
Rural India, which accounts for 69% of population, faces another issue only 21% of the
country‟s doctors serve them
Ironic that, while India is a hub for medical tourism (in 2016, India issued 1.78 lakh medical visas), it is a common sight in government hospitals to have patients sleep in corridors waiting for their outpatient department appointments.
The Bill, among other things, seeks to address these problems.
Insertion of Section 10A in the Indian Medical Council Act was followed by an exponential rise in the number of private medical colleges.
This was encouraged as there was, and still is, a shortfall in the number of medical practitioners.
However, the high capitation fees charged by these colleges can have a negative effect in
terms of affordability of medical services .
Regulatory authority has been unable to act despite the fact that over half the 60,000 medical students graduating every year are from private medical colleges
With corruption in the issuing of licences and regulatory requirements, many such academic institutions have a faculty of questionable standards, with obvious repercussions on the quality of education imparted.
For instance,Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram,and Nagaland do not have a single medical college.
Bill has facilitated this by providing for a bridge course for AYUSH doctors
Bill- is no magic bullet, it should be looked at as a step in the right direction

A move to equivalence

Several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements were signed between France and India recently on French President Emmanuel Macron‟s visit.
After the agreement with France, India must hold bilateral talks for degree recognition
with other countries
Most important MoU of these was the landmark agreement signed at the „Knowledge Summit‟ between two countries on mutual recognition of educational qualifications
Estimated 5 lakh Indian students pursuing degrees in higher education abroad in 2017
, mostly in the U.S., the U.K., and the European Union.
World-class institutions in their area of interest in which Indian universities have very little to offer.
bilateral pact with France is a good start that needs to be taken forward.

Time to move beyond subsidies

U.S. complaint to the WTO against India‟s export promotion schemes is a wake-up call
Complaint of USTR is that India is violating its commitments under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCMAgreement) using five of the most used
export promotion schemes, namely
Electronics hardware technology parks scheme, merchandise exports from India scheme, export promotion capital goods scheme, special economic zones
Main argument of the USTR is that India‟s five export promotion schemes violate Articles 3.1(a) and 3.2 of the SCMAgreement, since the two provisions prohibit granting of export subsidies.
Gross National Product (GNP) had not crossed $1,000
India had crossed the $1,000 GNP per capita threshold in 2015
India must eliminate export subsidies immediately

To be fighting fit

Government must order a comprehensive strategic review of the future threats to India
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India was the largest arms importer
in the last five years, accounting for 12% of global imports.
The Indian defence budget has now overtaken that of the U.K. to become the fifth largest in the world.
Despite this, as theVice-Chief of Army Staff pointed out to Parliament‟s standing committee on defence, the current capital allocation is insufficient
Equally worrying is the adverse impact on infrastructure development and strategic roads where there is a severe shortage of funds.
An insufficient defence budget impacts not only modernisation but also the current operational readiness of the force.
Reduction in revenue allocation means cutting down on training requirements and Routine replacement of items like surveillance and protective equipment.
Strategic environment in Asia is well known.
Asia is developing into a multipolar system, with Russia, China, India
J & K Problem- China (Doklam) & Pakistan-risk of war between India and Pakistan
Afghanistan‟s uncertain prospects, extremism
A comprehensive and an integrated approach to border management could result in considerable savings.
On its part, the military must focus on capability for future war fighting, not mere numbers

Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis

Page-2-Lalu Prasad convicted in fourth fodder scam case
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad was on Monday convicted in the fourth fodder scam case by the special CBI court in Ranchi.
Mr. Prasad is an accused in a total of six fodder scam cases: five in Jharkhand and one in Bihar.
Page-2- Jail inmates‟ skill training gets a boost in Rajasthan
It has enabled the inmates to learn new vocations and lead a life of dignity and selfrespect
The skill training of jail inmates in Rajasthan has received a boost with the State Skill and Livelihoods Development Corporation identifying more areas of skills for them. New training partners have also been invited to work with the Jails Department
State nod for religious minority tag for Lingayats
In a significant move ahead of the Assembly elections, the Karnataka Cabinet on Monday decided to accord „religious minority‟ recognition to Lingayats
It also decided to recommend to the Centre to notify the status under the Central Minority Commission Act
U.S. wants India on board to ease Rohingya crisis
Offers to work together to help Bangladesh with refugee camps ahead of the monsoon