Insights Daily Current Events, 31 January 2015

Insights Daily Current Events, 31 January 2015 Gold award for the Income Tax Department The Income Tax Department has been awarded GOLD by the Government of India under category “Cat-I-Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering” for National Award on e-governance 2014-15. The award has been conferred for “TDS Reconciliation Analysis & Correction Enabling System (TRACES)” project …

[Insights Secure – 2015] UPSC Mains Questions on Current Events, 31 January 2015

Archives – Secure 2015 31 January 2015  Monday’s Topic of GS-1: India – People and Economy, Class 12 Geography, Unit – I (Chapter – 1 and 2)   General Studies – 1   Topic: World wars, Redrawl of national boundaries; 1) ‘Extreme nationalism of fascist variety has various faces in various countries,but it has everywhere in common characteristics.’ Critically …

10) Recruitment to civil servants is done mainly on the basis of testing their domain knowledge with negligible emphasis on ethical competencies. How far do you think has this approach resulted in increasing corruption in government? Explain

Topic: Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; 10) Recruitment to civil servants is done mainly on the basis of testing their domain knowledge with negligible emphasis on ethical competencies. How far do you think has this approach resulted in increasing corruption in government?   Explain. (200 Words) http://yojana.gov.in/CMS/(S(kdrn2245hrays345op0myc55))/pdf/Yojana/English/2014/Yojana%20March%202014.pdf

9) ‘Satyagraha seeks the ethics of responsibility. Terror owns the act of violence but disowns the responsibility for it.’ Comment.

Topic: Human Values-Lessons from the lives of great leaders, reformers & Administrators; 9) ‘Satyagraha seeks the ethics of responsibility. Terror owns the act of violence but disowns the responsibility for it.’ Comment. (150 Words) http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/choosing-satyagraha-over-spectacle/article6840774.ece

8) India and USA recently committed to multi-sectoral actions to counter the emergence and spread of Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) and cooperation in training of health workers in preparedness for threats of infectious diseases.What is AMR? Why is it seen as a threat and what action can be taken to counter its effects?

Topic: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life  8) India and USA recently committed to multi-sectoral actions to counter the emergence and spread of Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) and cooperation in training of health workers in preparedness for threats of infectious diseases.What is AMR? Why is it seen as a threat and …

7) Coal remains the main fossil fuel for power generation in India. What are the health impacts of air pollution from these coal-fired power plants? Also assess the success of current environment regulatory framework for coal power plants in India.

Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation; 7) Coal remains the main fossil fuel for power generation in India. What are the health impacts of air pollution from these coal-fired power plants? Also assess the success of current environment regulatory framework for coal power plants in India. (200 Words) http://www.epw.in/system/files/Regulating%20Air%20Pollution%20from%20Coal%20Fired%20Power%20Plants%20in%20India.pdf

6) “The alleged increment in tax rate would not be able to make smoking tobacco a less affordable product because of its obvious loopholes in the differential treatment of different tobacco products or different tiers of the same product.” Comment.

Topic: mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. 6) “The alleged increment in tax rate would not be able to make smoking tobacco a less affordable product because of its obvious loopholes in the differential treatment of different tobacco products or different tiers of the same product.” Comment. (200 Words) http://www.epw.in/commentary/tobacco-taxation.html

5) “The recently released Shanta Kumar Committee report on issues related to procurement, storage and distribution of food grains in India is deeply flawed and runs contrary to the aim of achieving the MDGs “Critically analyse.

Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation;(Also Paper – 3: PDS) 5) “The recently released Shanta Kumar Committee report on issues related to procurement, storage and distribution of food grains in India is deeply flawed and runs contrary to the aim of achieving the MDGs …

4) Surrogacy in India has flourished into a ‘Commercial Industry’ and lead to ‘reproductive tourism’. Analyse both the positive and negative impacts this had on India. To what extent, the proposed ART bill seeks to address the above concerns

Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; 4) Surrogacy in India has flourished into a ‘Commercial Industry’ and lead to ‘reproductive tourism’. Analyse both the positive and negative impacts this had on India. To what extent, the proposed ART bill seeks to address the above …

3) There is a growing realisation that citizen participation lies at the heart of good governance. What are the initiatives taken by government in this regard? How can these initiatives be more successful?

Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; 3) There is a growing realisation that citizen participation lies at the heart of good governance. What are the initiatives taken by government in this regard? How can these initiatives be more successful? (200 Words) Refer –People Centric Administration …

2) “The popular rise of the slogan for azaadi in Kashmir in the late 1990s was on the account of religious fundamentalism which was left unchallenged and an Indian state which viewed a community merely as pawns in their geostrategic game.” Critically comment.

Topic: Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country; 2) “The popular rise of the slogan for azaadi in Kashmir in the late 1990s was  on the  account of religious  fundamentalism which was left unchallenged and an Indian state which viewed a community merely as pawns in their geostrategic game.” Critically comment. (200 Words) http://www.epw.in/editorials/quarter-century-exile.html

Lok Sabha TV Insights: Broadening the spectrum

LSTV Insights: Broadening the spectrum 30/1/2015 Bombay high court, in recent ruling, held that retrospective amendment in income tax law, as per which income tax department was demanding Rs 3200 crores from Vodafone, doesn’t have legal standing. Government has decided not to appeal against this order in Supreme Court. This development is big relief for …

The Big Picture – Importance of Census Data on Religion

 Importance of Census Data on Religion Summary: India has seen census being undertaken every 10 years without fail for several decades. The figure and data emerging out of this are very helpful. However, one data which almost always results in a controversy is religious census. Though the data regarding 2011 religious census was available 2 …

[Insights Secure – 2015] UPSC Mains Questions on Current Events, 30 January 2015

Archives – Secure 2015 30 January 2015  Tomorrow’s Topic of GS-1: Indian Society, Class 12 Sociology, Revision (Last Three Chapters)   General Studies – 1 Topic: Population and associated issues; 1) India is moving towards third stage of demographic transition i.e. replacement-level fertility. Discuss. What measures can be adopted by government to stabilize the population at a faster pace? What are …

10) Recently, we have witnessed the trend of secret information leaks by anonymous persons with in the government to expose malpractices. Debate whether this act done with good intentions be considered as ethical.

Topic: Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information; 10) Recently, we have witnessed the trend of secret information leaks by anonymous persons with in the government to expose malpractices. Debate whether this act done with good intentions be considered as ethical. (150 Words) General

8) What are the various generation of bio-fuels? Why are the previous generation bio-fuels seen as threat to food security? How do 3rd generation bio-fuels manage to address those problems?

Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation;   8) What are the various generation of bio-fuels? Why are the previous generation bio-fuels seen as threat to food security? How do 3rd generation bio-fuels manage to address those problems? (200 Words) http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/punjab-govt-plans-to-set-up-asia-s-first-bio-ethanol-refinery-115012901477_1.html