Coal comeuppance(फटक रन ) Intro:- 2014 Supreme Court order declaring all coal block allocations made since 1993 illegal Conviction of three Coal Ministry officials, including former Secretary H.C. Gupta. Coal block scam- Private companies Mr. Gupta was the chairperson of the screening committee that recommended allocations. Found guilty of abusing their positions to procure a coal block for Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Limited- Jaipur, Rajasthan Court Judge has now ruled that Coal Ministry officials deliberately(ज न - ब झकर) allowed an incomplete application from an ineligible company to be taken up for consideration All applications pass without any checking- favour of any company Former Secretary and Joint Secretary said in their defence- This is the job of the administrative ministry or the State government to which applications are forwarded.
Continue Any verification either before or after the screening committee recommended allocations to the Minister. Whether there was a conspiracy between the officials and the company and whether the prosecution proved that these omissions amounted to deliberate abuse of their positions. Significance of the verdict is that it may become a benchmark for other ongoing prosecutions on similar lines. The case also raises questions about the role and responsibility of a Secretary to the government, who is not only the administrative head of a department but also an adviser to the Minister on matters of policy.
Continue The varieties of Coal that are generally found in India are 1. Anthracite: It is the best quality coal and its carbon content is as much as 92% with a low volatile matter and very little moisture. It is hard and heavy and burns with great heat. 2. Bituminous: It is also of good quality coal next to Anthracite. It s carbon content is up to 85%. Coal mined in India, is mainly of bituminous type. 3. Lignite: It is inferior quality coal, full of moisture and volatile matter. Its carbon content is less than 50%. It is also known as brown coal. 4. Peat: It is the first stage in the formation of coal. It is light and woody and has poor heating capacity.
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Rouhani s moment Intro:- Iranian Rial
Continue His emphatic(ज रद र) re-election as Iran s President gives the reformist agenda a chance. Won one of the most polarised elections in Iran s recent history The hardliners rallied behind Ebrahim Raisi, who challenged Mr. Rouhani s economic policies, slammed(पटक ददय ) his outreach to the West and even corruption allegations against him. Still Mr. Rouhani won 57% of the vote against Mr. Raisi s 38.5%. Mr. Rouhani fought on his own. During campaign, he assailed(आक रमण) Iran s deep state in a way no sitting President had done. He reached out to women and the ethnic and religious minorities Focus was on the nuclear negotiations. Mr. Rouhani s biggest challenge is to respond to this current constructively, by launching gradual reforms at home that offer more civil liberties and better economic opportunities to the people.
Gender equality, the freedom struggle way Mahatma Gandhi-feminised India s freedom struggle to win against masculinity of British power. Saw his mother Putlibai and his wife Kasturba use peaceful resistance against patriarchy at home. His mother would fast to put moral pressure on his father, and His wife would refuse any act that he asked her to do if she did not agree with it. He personally experienced the power that resists rather than destroys. He incorporated this knowledge into political tool, satyagraha, that combined civil disobedience (आज ञ क उल ल घन) with constructive action. It was non-violent. The Champaran trigger When on the famous day of April 16, 1917, Gandhiji was asked by the British sub-divisional magistrate to leave the district of Champaran-he refused and wrote two letters. 1)-In the first, he asked a friend for volunteers, especially educated women volunteers, for the constructive action of running schools and ashrams where girls would be educated and hierarchies of caste, class and gender would be overcome.
2)-He stated his own civil disobedience: he would not leave Champaran without recording the plight(द दश ) of the farmers. By November, he had opened three girls schools and ashrams in Champaran. Submitted a report on the condition of Indigo farmers to the British, who were forced to withdraw the unjust laws. Women during the freedom struggle began to participate in protest politics. They began to organise public meetings, unionise mill workers, picket liquor shops, boycott foreign goods and court arrest. Eventually, these actions changed the women, but also feminised the men, who too learned to cook, clean, wash, spin, weave and stitch. This role reversal embodied the possibility of women doing men s work and men doing women s work; a shared humanity that replaced the gendered polarisation.
An opportunity being drained away International World Water Day (March 22); This year s theme was wastewater, Result of domestic, industrial, commercial and agricultural activities. In recent decades, population growth, accelerated urbanisation and economic development have resulted in an increase in the quantity of wastewater. Most of our freshwater sources are under threat. The victims are generally the poor or socially vulnerable communities, and the end result is a high financial burden on the community and government. Water facts 1)-Globally, over 80% of the wastewater generated goes back to the ecosystem without being treated 2)-Another fact is that 1.8 billion people use drinking water contaminated- risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. 3)-Also, 663 million people still lack access to improved drinking water sources.
Continue Safely managed wastewater is an affordable and sustainable source of water. By 2030, the global demand for water is expected to grow by 50%. Most of this demand will be in cities. India, with 1)- 17% of the world s population, 2)- 4% of water resources and 3)- 2.4% of land area Water pollution is not a major topic of political debate as yet. Management strategies Water pollution prevention policies should be integrated into non-water policies Water pollution should be made a punishable offence. At the local level, capacity building enables the community to make decisions Environmental taxes Eco-friendly inputs such as biofertilizers
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Conclusion
Intro:- The U.S. will gain little by turning India into an adversary on climate change issues. Donald Trump s accusation against India concerning the Paris Accord U.S. pays billions of dollars while China, Russia, and India have contributed (to pollution) and will contribute nothing- is inaccurate, misleading and unfair. In fact, India has walked with the U.S. from Stockholm to Paris New Delhi has fought for climate justice, equity and fairness all the way. Indira Gandhi had exposed the Western efforts to impose environmental colonialism. At the Stockholm Conference in 1972 and declared that poverty is the worst polluter and demanded that the polluter must pay The concept of common, but differentiated responsibilities We will have a 2 Celsius warming target and try to do a little better every five years. It is just worthless words- There is no action, just promises. The U.S. will gain little by turning India into an adversary once again at a time when a whole range of issues in India-U.S. relations are yet to be clarified and taken forward- Walking together on climate change will be beneficial to both. Cool down the rhetoric
News Analysis Page-4- Maharashtra releases Koyna water to crisis-hit Karnataka The Maharashtra government on Sunday released water from the Koyna dam in Satara district to alleviate the water crisis in Karnataka. Water level in the Kaveri river basin
Continue Page-7- Jamsenpa scripts history, scales Everest twice in 5 days Climber Anshu Jamsenpa on Sunday scripted history by scaling Mount Everest twice within five days Mother of two becomes first Indian woman to reach mountain top for fifth time
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Continue Page-10- Green energy target tough, say officials
Continue Page-12- Trump puts the onus(भ र) on Muslim world to combat terrorism. Mr. Trump s address on Sunday was the centrepiece of his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, his first stop overseas as President. U.S. President Donald Trump called on Middle Eastern leaders to combat a crisis of Islamic extremism emanating from the region, casting the fight against terrorism as a battle between good and evil, not a clash between the West and Islam.
Continue Page-14- Rainbow turns out to be a mirage NPA problem faced by Indian banks The efforts of RBI have not borne fruit: The 5/25 scheme which permitted extension of loan amortization period up to 25 years with interest reset every 5 years did not work as the higher interest burden due to tenor extension required additional borrowing which worsened the initial problem The sale of NPAs to Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARC) has so far been very low due to two main reasons: banks have been reluctant to sell NPA at a price reflecting their realisable economic value; and, banks received only 15% of the NPA sales consideration in cash.
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Continue Difference b/w Custom AND Excise Duty Custom duty- is imposed on the imported and exported goods in the country. Excise duty- every manufacturer of the goods in the country has to pay Excise duty. GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast ASI- Ministry of Culture It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General. Brahmi inscriptions are the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka in north-central India, dating to 250 232 BCE