EducatorIAS

The estimated poverty decline in India between 2011-12 and 2016-17, time has come to change our economic policies — concentrate on what causes growth, not what causes poverty to decline On National Statistics Day and there is a reasonable chance that the NSSO Consumer Expenditure Survey report for agricultural year (July-June) 2017-18 will be released over the next couple of weeks. Based on our analysis of existing trends in consumer expenditure and consumer prices, we predict that this will (should) unleash seismic changes in the way Indians (including the Union government) think about absolute poverty and its alleviation, macro-growth policies and micro policies, especially those on agriculture. First rethink : We are not a poor country any more, not with just 4.5 per cent of the population classified as poor (the Tendulkar poverty line of Rs 44 per person per day in 2017-18 prices). Given that there has been very low inflation since then, consider this as the poverty line today. Sec...

 Systemic risks in finacial Sector in India  India’s financial system remains stable notwithstanding weakening domestic growth; the resilience of the banking sector has improved following recapitalisation of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) by the Government. Risks arising out of global/domestic economic uncertainties and geopolitical developments, however, persist. Global and domestic macro-financial risks The global economy confronted a number of uncertainties – a delay in the Brexit deal, trade tensions, whiff of an impending recession, oil-market disruptions and geopolitical risks – leading to significant deceleration in growth. These uncertainties weighed on consumer confidence and business sentiment, dampened investment intentions and unless properly addressed are likely to remain a key drag on global growth. As regards the domestic economy, aggregate demand slackened in Q2:2019-20 further extending the growth deceleration. While the outlook for capital inflows remain...

The international environment is clouded with very challenging conditions. Global growth is slowing down and central banks across the world are bracing up to counter it by easing monetary policy; but there is no recession as yet. Trade wars have pushed world trade into contraction and threaten to morph into tech and currency wars, with no evidence of any significant gains accruing to anyone. Meanwhile, global commodity prices have weakened, with collateral benefits to net commodity importers and terms of trade losses for commodity exporters. The developments emanating from drone strikes on Saudi oil facilities are, however, still playing out. Sporadic flights to safety are driving capital flows out of emerging markets into advanced economy assets; but the universe of negative yielding bonds is growing disconcertingly large, posing a potential threat to financial stability. Strengths and Weaknesses 2. In this hostile environment, 1)India’s external sector has exhibited resilienc...

There is a new awareness that even in democracies based on Universal Adult Franchise, every adult citizen has one vote. But, it does not ensure that every citizen is equally empowered. For example, women, minorities, marginalized social group like race or caste. of all the groups that need empowerment, women is one such category. Empowerment of women is a prerequisite to transform a developing society into a developed one. They are a potential resource for the overall and balanced development. As they constitute 50% of the human race, it is vital that every section of society develops equally and in harmony with each other. Social transformation requires that women should be empowered to make decisions. Hence, special efforts has been made to empower them so that the logic of equality of votes in democracy is fulfilled. Women's empowerment has become a buzz word in the present context. Empowerment has an instrumental value as well that is why is seen both as a means to an end and a...

The Constitution protects individual freedom, places power in the hands of citizens, limits the power of the government and establishes a system of checks and balances. It also allows to amend it, as the people like, through parliamentary process. That is the Constitution of India. It is one of the bulkiest Constitutions of the world. It is rigid as its basic structure cannot be changed. It is flexible as it can be interpreted and amended. It ensures federal system with a unitary bias, gives fundamental rights and enshrines duties too, have directive principles of state policy, and parliamentary system of government. Most importantly, it gives to the people independent judiciary, which can interpret the Constitution, its amendments and accept or reject any new law or amendment. Parliament and state legislatures have the power to make laws within their respective jurisdictions. However, this is not absolute in nature and subjected to judicial review. If a law violates any provis...

some components commonly found on most satellites. These include: Antennas:  Satellite antenna systems are used to receive and transmit signals to and from Earth. Command and Data Handling:  The operational heart of a satellite, command and control systems monitor every aspect of the satellite and receive commands from Earth for operation. Guidance and Stabilization:  Sensors monitor the satellite’s position to ensure it remains in the correct orbit and is oriented toward the correct target. If necessary, thrusters and other maneuvers allow a satellite to fine-tune its position and orientation. Housing:  Constructed from strong materials that can withstand the harsh space environment. Power:  Most satellites rely on a solar array to convert sunlight into energy. Thermal Control:  Guards satellite equipment against extreme changes in temperature. Transponders:  Uplink and downlink signals arrive and depart at different frequencies. Transponders convert ...

Important Bills Passed by Parliament Jammu and Kashmir -  Abrogation of Article 370 and 35A ; The Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act, 2019; The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2019 National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Act, 2019 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019 –  aims to increase operational efficiency of SPG in ensuring the security of the Prime Minister of India. Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 –  focus on granting Indian Citizenship to persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities on ground of religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Marathon deliberations held by Union Home Minister with various stakeholders from North East and their concerns against the CAB 2019 addressed in the final Amendment Act. Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019 –  enhances the punishment for existing offences like illegal manufacture, sale, transf...

The POCSO Act, 2012 was enacted to Protect the Children from Offences of Sexual Assault, Sexual harassment and pornography with due regard for safeguarding the interest and well-being of children. The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age, and regards the best interests and welfare of the child as matter of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child. The act is gender neutral. What is POCSO act? The Act seeks to protect children from offences such as sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography. Penetrative sexual assault: Under the Act, a person commits "penetrative sexual assault" if he: penetrates his penis into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a child makes a child do the same inserts any other object into the child's body applies his mouth to a child's body parts. The punishment for such offence is imprisonment between seve...

There are huge disparities in the economic and social wellbeing of people across states within India and other South Asian countries (Subramanian 2011). 1  This raises the question: Can government policies help the poor regions catch up with the rich ones? Of the three classic responses, two rely on central government actions: Improve the business environment for the private sector, support market integration, improve connectivity, and ensure macroeconomic stability, or Intervene directly in sectors or locations in which the private sector is reluctant to invest. An alternative strategy is to devolve power to local governments who may then implement policies more suited to local conditions. When it comes to economics there are three forms of decentralisation: Fiscal; Administrative; and Political. In recent work (Iyer  et al  in  Ghani 2010 ), we examine whether the current decentralisation arrangements in India are working to the benefit of the poor...