Prashant Mavani, is an expert in current affairs analysis and holds a MSc in Management from University of Surrey (U.K.).

Transcription

1 Prashant Mavani, is an expert in current affairs analysis and holds a MSc in Management from University of Surrey (U.K.). Above all he is a passionate teacher.

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5 The twist in the probe into the murder of a seven-year-old boy at a school Poor quality of police investigation in the country how unreliable the police can be when it comes to investigating grave crimes amidst a public outcry and close media scrutiny. Central Bureau of Investigation: that it was a 16-year-old student who murdered Pradyuman Thakur at the Ryan International School, and not the bus conductor arrested earlier for the offence by the local police. Police must explain: Ashok Kumar, the conductor of the school bus, had committed the murder in the school s washroom on September 8, and that he had confessed to it. In their eagerness to show results and demonstrate their efficiency, the Gurugram police announced the bus conductor s arrest on the very night of the murder. The muddle in the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case probe is a telling example of how both the local police and the CBI can botch up the investigation and lead to unfair incarceration. Class XI student had killed his junior school mate in a bid to get examinations postponed and a parent-teacher meeting called off.

6 Police must learn not to succumb to the temptation to wrap up probes under public pressure. Studies on police reforms have highlighted the need to make the investigation process more scientific and more rooted in forensic analysis. But custodial torture and extracted confessions continue to be reported. There is a likelihood of the 16-year-old suspect being tried as an adult under provisions introduced in juvenile law in 2016.

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9 Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe s decision to fire his Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, citing disloyalty and deceitfulness, has triggered another political crisis ahead of next year s presidential election. right-hand man and was widely tipped to be his successor. The Zanu-PF has announced that the 93-year-old Mr. Mugabe will be its presidential candidate for next year s election. Mr. Mugabe, a former Marxist guerrilla who came to power in 1980 riding on strong anti-colonial sentiments and promises to reshape the country s future, has instead overseen a rapid deterioration of the economy in recent years. Following unbridled hyperinflation, Zimbabwe had to scrap its dollar altogether in 2015 and adopt a multi-currency system, which has done little to ease cash shortages. The country s infrastructure is crumbling and government services are a shambles.

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11 Mohammed bin Salman, as the next in the line to the throne 11 princes and senior government ministers and officials were arrested Some others see MBS as a risk-taking reformer who is challenging both the establishment royals as well as the Wahhabi-Salafi clergy of the Kingdom to reshape the country. unprecedented power struggle MBS is practically in charge of all branches of the Saudi armed forces. He already controlled the Royal Court and had taken over economic policies. The latest arrests also allow him to tighten his grip over the country s media. The way MBS has consolidated power in less than three years in a country that s run on patronage, tribal loyalty, tradition and royal consensus is unprecedented. No Crown Prince in years, if not decades, has enjoyed the kind of authority he now wields.

12 MBS s track record is dismal. The Vision 2030 plan, which MBS unveiled earlier to reduce Saudi dependence on oil, has been a non-starter. Even in his promise to allow women to drive, he has simply given in to long-standing demands from within and abroad, and hasn t signalled if he would go beyond it to usher in other reforms that would provide more freedoms. The regional repercussions of the crisis at home are already visible. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who was leading a unity government in which Hezbollah, the Shia party, was a part, announced his resignation while in Riyadh, blaming Iranian influence in Lebanese politics. It s quite an unusual way for a country s Prime Minister to announce his resignation from another country, blaming it on a third nation. It s evident from his policy adventures over the past three years be it the bombing of Yemen, the proxy war in Syria, the blockade of Qatar or the formation of a Sunni coalition

13 It is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.

14 In 2015, India made a Bonn Challenge commitment to place into restoration A. 13 million hectares (Mha) of degraded land by 2020 B. Additional 8 Mha by 2030 India s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) have also pledged to sequester 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent additionally by 2030 through enhanced tree cover. Initial government estimates suggest that to achieve this, India will need to extend tree cover on at least million hectares, outside of the existing forest cover. It appears that there is an over-reliance on plantations. Madhya Pradesh planted 66 million trees in 12 hours Uttar Pradesh s record of planting 49.3 million trees in a day Other States are also expected to follow suit.

15 Improving ecology Notably, neither the Bonn Challenge nor the NDCs are about large-scale plantations alone. Bonn Challenge Emphasis on landscape approaches improving the ecology of a landscape as a whole in order to benefit local livelihoods and conserve biodiversity. NDC Lays emphasis not only on carbon sequestration but also adaptation to climate change through a strengthened flow of benefits to local communities that are dependent on forests and agriculture for sustenance. This also reflects the spirit of India s policy framework on forests which lays emphasis on a landscape approach to manage forest and tree cover, so that the flow of multiple ecosystem services including food security, climate mitigation and adaptation, conservation of biological diversity and water supplies is secured.

16 Large-scale plantation drives, which often do not lay stress on species selection, the quality of planting materials or survival rates, nor recognise tenure and resource rights to ensure that the benefit flows to communities, do not really achieve the goals. We must protect healthy forest areas from deforestation, degradation and fragmentation. Tree-based interventions 35 types of agroforestry models: that provide timber, fruits, fodder, fuel and fertilizers with food crops. This diversifies income from farming, and improves land productivity. Farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) systems where farmers protect and manage the growth of trees and shrubs that regenerate naturally in their fields from root stock or from seeds dispersed through animal manure can also deliver several economic and ecosystem benefits. In Niger, West Africa, farmers operating on 5 Mha of land added roughly 200 million onfarm trees using FMNR in the past 30 years. This has sequestered million tonnes of carbon and increased annual agricultural production by about 500,000 tonnes.

17 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development s (NABARD s) Wadi model and the Foundation for Ecological Security s re-greening of village commons project are good examples of tree-based interventions important success factor: security of tenure and land rights In Brazil, for instance, the average annual costs of providing communities with secure rights to their forest is $1.57 (Rs103) per hectare (ha) while the resulting carbon-mitigation benefits range from $38/ha to $230/ha per year. That s a net value of $1,454-1,743/ha for a period of 20 years. Ensure that owners have the right to manage and use these trees. Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) find the best methods for landscape restoration.

18 UNESCO s new Global Education Monitoring Report 2017/18 is a comprehensive and nuanced look at the role of accountability in global education systems in the effort to achieve the vision of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: to ensure inclusive and quality education for all, and to promote lifelong learning. The report points out that providing universal quality education depends not on the performance of teachers alone, it does indeed take an entire village. Teaching to the test Azim Premji Foundation study finding It found that while the overall percentage of teachers not in school was 18.5%, most of these were either out of school on other official duty, or on bonafide leave. Actual teacher absenteeism because of teachers truancy was 2.5%.

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20 Constitution Bench to hear plea on bid to sway SC judge A Constitution Bench of the first five judges of the Supreme Court in the order of seniority will hear on November 13 a petition seeking an independent investigation by a special team, supervised by a former Chief Justice of India (CJI), into a corruption case involving a former Orissa High Court judge. The judge allegedly conspired with a hawala dealer to influence the outcome of a case pending in the Supreme Court in favour of a debarred private medical college.

21 GST Council to tighten norms for Composition Scheme Twenty-third meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council in Guwahati. Set to tighten the noose on players who, authorities believe, have started splitting their business operations into smaller entities to avoid higher tax liabilities. The Council is also set to cut tax rates on a large number of product lines. The Council is expected to further liberalise the Composition Scheme for small businesses and traders to pay a flat and low tax on their turnover. The annual turnover eligibility threshold is likely to be raised to Rs 1.5 crore from the Rs 1 crore limit A Group of Ministers tasked with simplifying the Composition Scheme is learnt to have recommended a new regulation that would bar all associated enterprises from participating in the scheme, if their combined turnover crossed the specified threshold limit.

22 Bihar may emerge as harbinger of next green revolution: Kovind President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday lauded the progress made by Bihar in the field of agriculture and said the State could become the harbinger of the next green revolution with better water management and advanced facilities. The State has won the Krishi Karman Award a number of times because of its fine performance in the field of agriculture, he observed. The per-hectare yield of paddy in the State has risen over the past decade by nearly 90 % from 1.3 tonne to 2.5 tonne. This is tremendous, considering the fact that paddy is cultivated on nearly 35 lakh hectares in the State, Mr. Kovind said here while launching the State government s third agricultural roadmap for

23 Olive Ridleys keep date with Odisha Olive Ridley turtles have kept their date with Gahirmatha beach in Odisha s Kendrapara district, known as world s largest rookery of this endangered species, arriving just offshore for mating in large numbers.

24 Kolkata-Khulna train keeps ties on track Nearly 10 years after the -Dhaka passenger train was flagged off after a gap of 43 years, a new train Bandhan Express was inaugurated between and Khulna in Bangladesh, covering a distance of 172 km, on Thursday. The air-conditioned passenger train, announced during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina s India visit in April, will run every Thursday from both Kolkata and Khulna. They also inaugurated the second Bhairab and Titas railway bridges on the Dhaka-Chittagong route over the Meghna and Titas rivers, respectively, in Bangladesh

25 Trump, Xi vow to tackle global issues The United States on Thursday highlighted its special ties with China in managing global problems, including nuclear tensions in North Korea, instability in Afghanistan and tackling the scourge of international terrorism. Visiting U.S. President Donald Trump, signalled at a joint press conference that Washington and Beijing will be the main pillars of a more inclusive international system.

26 Princely tip: mentoring is key for budding entrepreneurs Citing from his experience of running the Prince of Wales Youth Business Trust for over four decades, Prince Charles said on Thursday that lending money to budding young entrepreneurs was good, but they also needed mentoring in their initial years to build durable businesses. We discovered in the United Kingdom, after 41 years of the trust, that it s all very well to lend money to young businesses, but what really makes a difference to the sustainability and durability of these businesses is the handholding and advice in the first two or three years particularly when trying to deal with the appalling complications of cash flows and all the pitfalls that you can fall into, he said.

27 Work on Jaitapur n-plant to begin soon Even as the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP) is back on the negotiating table between the Indian and French governments, talks on liability and costs are yet to see a breakthrough in this 9,900 MW plant the world s largest in terms of capacity. Speaking to The Hindu, Alexandre Ziegler, the Ambassador of France to India, said that the political will shown by the present government is pushing the project forward at a remarkable speed. One must understand that it [Jaitapur] is the largest nuclear project in the world, and the way government has moved, I am sure the work will begin very soon, he said.

28 Questions 1) True or False? Justify A. Southwesterly winds in winter times bring monsoon in parts of South India B. Northeasterly winds are responsible for the monsoon season 2) A Member of Parliament can become Chief Minister of a State? Y/N? Justify. Explain briefly what are the technicalities that allows/disallows such switch in role.

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