(VIDEO) J&K: Ballot over Boycott? : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: J&K: Ballot over Boycott : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

We need a pro-liberty judicial approach 

Mains Paper: 2 | Polity 
Prelims level: civil liberties
Mains level: The judiciary is deviating from its own precedents in terms of civil liberties 

Introduction 

• Article 21 of the Constitution places the personal liberty of citizens on the highest pedestal, and so it is the duty of our courts to protect it. 
• However, two recent decisions of the Supreme Court suggest that the court may not be showing sufficient zeal in upholding liberty.

Analysing the cases 

• The case concerning the Bhima-Koregaon accused, the court should have applied the ‘clear and present danger’ test of the celebrated Justice Holmes of the U.S. Supreme Court.
• The ‘imminent lawless action’ test of the U.S. Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio (followed by the Indian Supreme Court in Sri Indra Das v. State of Assam ).
• It would have held that the actions of the accused in the Bhima-Koregaon incident, even assuming the charges to be true, could not have posed any clear and present danger of a violent uprising, and after holding so.
• The court would have quashed the proceedings against them, and consequently released all the five accused forthwith.
• In Abhijit Iyer-Mitra v. State of Odisha, the Supreme Court refused bail to the petitioner saying that his action hurt religious feelings, an offence under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code. 
• Based on the principles laid down by the court in State of Rajasthan v. Balchand and other decisions, bail should have been granted. 

Way forward

• There was no likelihood of the petitioner tampering with the evidence or fleeing from justice. 
• Also, the offence was not as grave or heinous as murder, or gang-rape. 
• All that the petitioner did was to tweet some satirical remarks about the Konark temple, and he clarified in later tweets that he was joking. 
• It is true that the tweets were indiscreet because many Indians do not understand satire, but the court could have laid down the condition in its order granting bail that the petitioner should not repeat such remarks.
• It could hurt religious feelings, and if he did that the bail could be cancelled. 
• It was certainly not a case deserving rejection of bail altogether.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) Right to speedy trial is a:
(a) Constitutional Right
(b) Legal Right
(c) Fundamental Right
(d) Natural Right
Answer:  C

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) India needs to adopt a pro-liberty judicial approach to maintain civil liberties. Critically examine the statement.  

Tackling global warming 

Mains Paper: 3 | Environment 
Prelims level: Paris Accord
Mains level: Issues relating to climate change.  

Introduction 

• The IPCC’s special report on global warming of 1.5°C, prepared as a follow-up to the UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change, provides the scientific basis for them to act. 
• There is now greater confidence in time-bound projections on the impacts of climate change on agriculture, health, water security and extreme weather. 
• With sound policies, the world can still pull back, although major progress must be achieved by 2030. Governments should achieve net zero CO2 addition to the atmosphere, balancing man-made emissions through removal of CO2. 

What government can do?

• The Paris Agreement aims to keep global temperature rise in this century well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the increase even further, to 1.5°C. 
• The IPCC makes it clear that the human and economic costs of a 2°C rise are far greater than for 1.5°C, and the need for action is urgent. 
• Human activity has warmed the world by 1°C over the pre-industrial level and with another half-degree rise, many regions will have warmer extreme temperatures, raising the frequency, intensity and amount of rain or severity of drought. 
• Risks to food security and water, heat exposure, drought and coastal submergence all increase significantly even for a 1.5°C rise.

Facing the crisis 

• India, Pakistan and China are already suffering moderate effects of warming in areas such as water availability, food production and land degradation, and these will worsen. 
• These impacts are expected to spread to sub-Saharan Africa, and West and East Asia. 
• The prognosis for India, of annual heatwaves by mid-century in a scenario of temperature increase in the 1.5°C to 2°C range, is particularly worrying. 
• There is evidence to show it is among the regions that would experience the largest reductions in economic growth in a 2°C scenario. 

Way Forward 

• These are clear pointers, and the sensible course for national policy would be to fast-track the emissions reduction pledges made for the Paris Agreement.
• The commitment to generate 100 GW of solar energy by 2022 should lead to a quick scale-up from the 24 GW installed, and cutting down of coal use. 
• Agriculture needs to be strengthened with policies that improve water conservation, and afforestation should help create a large carbon sink. 
• There is a crucial role for all the States, since their decisions will have a lock-in effect.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

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UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) The eighth edition of Emissions Gap report, released ahead of the UN Climate Change
Conference in Bonn in 2017 has revealed increasing greenhouse gas emissions gap. In this context consider the following statements:
1. Emissions gap is the difference between the emissions level countries have pledged to achieve under international agreements and the level consistent with limiting warming below 2 oC.
2. The Emissions Gap report is released by UNEP.
Which of the statements given above is/arecorrect?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer:  C

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) What governments of Paris accord participating nation can do to resolve the climate change issues?
 

Learning to ask 

Mains Paper: 2 | Polity 
Prelims level: Provision related to reservation 
Mains level: Reporting on reservations and facing inconvenient questions posed by students 

Introduction 

• The year was 2006 and the Central government had directed institutions of higher education to implement a 27%-reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). 
• With 22.5% of seats already reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), this would take the reservation slab to 49.5%.
• The move led to disquiet among both the SCs and the upper castes. As a reporter, you had to wade carefully while asking questions.

A quiet unrest

• Upper caste students from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi took to sweeping the streets in protest.
• Coded in their casteist act was a message: “We will be forced to pick up brooms if reservation for OBCs is to come about.”
• On, the other side of the divide were the SC students, worried not only about the shrinking pie for government jobs a lifeline for them.
• So, how did one navigate this quagmire of sensibilities without hurting the sentiments of either category of students?
• I learnt a valuable lesson while reporting on the quiet unrest among SC students. 
• A conversation over the phone with a student left me bruised.
• My question was: “How worried are you at the reservation for OBCs?”
• He countered with a question: “Have you ever been told by your teacher to sit outside the classroom?”

Will it become more difficult now that OBCs too have a quota?

• If you speak like someone born to privileged life. How can you even begin to understand what it means to see your parents toiling away as scavengers?
• I had to confess that I had not faced discrimination on account of my caste or gender. The questioning and counter-questioning made me ponder over the language we deploy as reporters.
• The research student from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) also asked me about my struggles in life to get to where I was.
• He then asked whether there was enough diversity in newsrooms. I looked around and mumbled a ‘no’.
• The struggle, if any, would be nowhere close to the scale he and his parents had endured. That was enough to tell the story of reservations.

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UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) Prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion is provided by which of the following fundamental rights?
(a) Right to equality
(b) Right to freedom of religion
(c) Right against exploitation
(d) Right to constitutional remedies.
Answer:  A

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) It become more difficult now that OBCs too have a quota? Critically examine statement. 

(VIDEO) Crack in opposition unity (विपक्षी एकता में दरार) - Lok Sabha TV Insight Discussion

Topic of Discussion: Crack in opposition unity (विपक्षी एकता में दरार)- Lok Sabha TV Insight Discussion

(VIDEO) How safe are high rises? : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: How safe are high rises? : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

India’s S-400 balancing act

Mains Paper: 3 | Internal Security 
Prelims level: S 400 
Mains level: While the India-Russia relationship is no longer what it was, the current transactionalism suits both countries for now

Introduction 

• India last week saw the long-overdue materialization of the S-400 deal. Despite the threat of sanctions by the US under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), India is likely to get a waiver. 
• This signifies how strategically important India is, for both Russia and the US.

Why the deal is so significant?

• The deal is being projected in some quarters as India daring the US and displaying strategic autonomy. 
• It even betrays a touch of the Cold War-style non-aligned movement (NAM) mindset. 
• India needs the S-400 to plug the gaps in its air defence, especially against China.
• India had been pursuing this deal since 2015, well before Donald Trump became the US president and CAATSA was legislated.
• India has spent a lot of political capital to get a waiver. It was one of the main talking points during the 2+2 dialogue between India and the US. 
• Both Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis have supported waivers for India for its weapon deals with Russia. 
• India enjoys bipartisan support in the US, the anger at Russia over its meddling in the US elections along with the domestic political partisanship could make it tricky for India. 

Russia has come out as the clear winner 

• Despite India and Russia sharing a strong defence relationship, the ties between the two countries have been drifting as India slowly started becoming an important partner to the US. Sanctions could cool relations.
• Russia is opposed to India’s policy in the Indo-Pacific. It does not want India to be a counterbalance against China.
• Russia itself is dependent on China for arms and energy sales and investments, and disregards India’s concerns about its northern neighbour. 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an informal summit with Putin in Sochi before he delivered a tempered speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue on India’s policy in the Indo-Pacific. 
• The ‘Quad’ grouping is focussed on China’s expansionism, it is possible that Russia conveyed to India its sensitivities in joining a US-led security grouping in the Indo-Pacific. 

Impacts on India U.S. relations 

• The S-400 deal does, however, shows the gaps in Indo-US defence relations. 
• Despite the close defence ties and the countries staging a large number of bilateral military exercises in recent years, shortcomings in defence trade remain. 
• The Defence Framework and Defense Technology and Trade Initiative to pursue joint development and co-production of defence equipment has failed to address India’s needs. 
• It has also failed to estimate what the US can deliver and how far India will go in trusting the US for critical weapons systems.
• Indian decisionmakers still seem to be saddled with the legacy of the Cold War and non-alignment.
• On the other hand, in comparison to Russia which has helped India with strategic technologies like leasing and developing nuclear-powered submarines.
• The US is still not open to supplying India with advanced weapons platforms and military technologies.

Conclusion 

• With the S-400, India has achieved what it wanted. But it underscores the transactional relations between India and Russia. 
• Indo-Russian trade is largely defence driven, and India continues to be Russia’s biggest weapons buyer. 
• India will keep Russia engaged with defence deals amid Russia’s growing relations with Pakistan.
• Russia is no longer coy about selling weapons to Pakistan. 
• There is a definite sense of realism in India, Russia and the US. Transactionalism is suiting both India and Russia. 
• India gets the advanced weapons it needs and Russia charges top dollar for it. It does not give “friendship prices” to India anymore. 
• Russia is not going to help India in its strategic competition with China, nor is it as committed as it once was to India in its case against Pakistan.
• Indian interests will be served as long as Russia meets its strategic weapons needs and doesn’t make any moves that compromise India’s security. 
• The US not reacting too sensitively to India’s weapons purchase will be pivotal for India-US economic and defence ties as well. 

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

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UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1)  Which of the following is true about "CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act)", recently in news ?
A.    The act is passed by USA for countries having significant defence relations with North Korea. 
B.    It would be tough for India to carry on defence deals with USA if the act is not diluted on case to case basis.
C.    Both 1 and 2
D.    Neither 1 nor 2
Answer:  B

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) Why S 400 the deal is so significant for India Russia relations?

Hard justice 

Mains Paper: 2 | Judiciary 
Prelims level: Not so important 
Mains level: With Brett Kavanaugh confirmed, Republicans enjoy great power to shape the U.S. agenda 

Introduction 

• The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of conservative-leaning judge Brett Kavanaugh, by a vote of 50-48, and he was sworn in as a ninth justice of the Supreme Court (SCOTUS).
• The narrow victory of the second successful nominee of President Donald Trump to the highest court came after a furore involving allegations of sexual misconduct levelled by Christine Blasey Ford, a Professor of Psychology.
• Under pressure after Ms. Ford came forward, the Republican majority on Capitol Hill agreed to an FBI inquiry into the allegations against Mr. Kavanaugh. 
• While the FBI was limited to a tight deadline, given a predetermined list of persons it could interview, and constraints on the kind of evidence it could obtain, no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing emerged. 
• Mr. Kavanaugh now takes the place of retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, a judge seen as a potential swing vote on contentious issues such as marriage equality. 
• Chief Justice John Roberts is also considered by some to be a potential swing vote, as he was in the case that established the legality of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
• This, is the critical question facing American jurisprudence.

Has the rightward tilt of the SCOTUS intensified with Mr. Kavanaugh’s confirmation? 

• Liberal-progressive America may understandably fear that the country is on the brink of a new epoch of politics and social justice that could herald a rollback of hard-fought freedoms in areas such as women’s reproductive rights, voting rights, LGBTQ rights, rights of racial or ethnic minorities, immigration reform, and environmental controls. 
• Mr. Kavanaugh’s past rulings on assault weapons bans, religious liberty rights and the constitutional rights of large financial corporations.
• His rulings in future cases may well favour conservatives for example, by giving the Second Amendment on the right to bear arms more teeth, by potentially re-opening Roe v. Wade on abortion, or by allowing state-level challenges that go against the marriage equality tenet implied by Obergefell v. Hodges .

Way forward 

• The U.S. President is immune to criminal prosecution, especially since Mr. Kavanaugh helped write the Ken Starr Report calling for the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. 
• Would he still stand by sections of that report that argued in favour of an impeachment for lying? 
• Taking a step back from the Kavanaugh nomination, it is evident that even if Democrats are in a strong position to win back the House of Representatives in the coming mid-term elections, control of the White House.
• The Senate and SCOTUS gives the Republican Party a magnitude of control rarely seen in recent times, and with it the power to reinsert conservative values into the heart of American democracy.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) Which of the following are the federal features of the Indian constitution ?
1. Written Constitution
2. Flexibility of the Constitution
3. Division of Powers
4. Integrated Judiciary
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 4 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 3 and 4 only
Answer:  A

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) Has the rightward tilt of the SCOTUS intensified with Mr. Kavanaugh’s confirmation? 

Know thy judge

Mains Paper: 2 | Judiciary  
Prelims level: Constitutional Bodies  
Mains level: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

Context 

• We have what we call a “collegium” of the five senior-most judges of the Supreme Court considering names primarily from among chief justices of the high courts and occasionally from the bar for appointment to the Supreme Court.
• The future chief justices of India will be chosen from a pool of judges in the high courts, who have today put in more than 14 years of service.
• Those who have or have had a relative in the judiciary have a better chance of making it compared to others.
• An aspiring law researcher with a little help from Google Analytics will be able to predict who will be the CJI of India in 2039.
• Unlike in the US, where the collegial approach spans the whole nation and virtually the world, our collegial impulses are confined to five learned men.

Why is it so important for you to know your judges before they are appointed?

• Because they decide what you eat, what you can and cannot say, who you can have sex with and whether or not you can visit a temple.
• That is not all. They decide matters of life and death, guilt and innocence, detention and freedom, bail or jail.
• They decide who is a terrorist and who is not.
• There is no aspect of our life which is not governed by the law and  judges are the ultimate interpreters of the law.
• The process of confirmation of a judge in the US Senate is intended to check, publicly, the suitability of a nominee for appointment as a judge.

No such process occurs in India prior to the appointment of a judge.

• If the government of the day were to nominate a judge for confirmation, we do know that they would choose a person who shared their political persuasion.
• The problem in India is we are denied information relating to a proposed appointee and are often left with little more than rumours and suspicion about the antecedents of a judge.

Conclusion 

• Today, we talk of our judges being “liberal” or “conservative”.
• There is now even talk of judges being “urban Naxals”.
• To avoid such post-appointment slander affecting the legitimacy of judges in these “divided times”, we need a new process of appointment of judges and new criteria for evaluation which will capture what we expect from them.
• Pre-appointment background checks must include allegations of sexual harassment against them.
• Such people are normally repeat offenders and a little investigation would show up their lack of character in dealing with women.
• This would be the contribution of the Me Too movement to accountability in the judiciary.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

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UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) The Indian Supreme Court is different from the American Supreme Court in that it has
(a) advisory jurisdiction
(b) power of judicial review
(c) original jurisdiction
(d) None of the above
Answer:  A

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) Why is it so important for you to know your judges before they are appointed?

(VIDEO) Benefits to farmers by increasing the MSP (एमएसपी में बढ़ोतरी से किसानों को फायदा)- Lok Sabha TV Insight Discussion

(VIDEO) Climate Change Warning : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: Climate Change Warning : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

More global R&D is needed to tackle TB

Mains Paper: 2 | Health 
Prelims level: TB
Mains level: TB burden, the global progress against the disease has been slow

Introduction 

• Tuberculosis (TB) has drawn unprecedented attention in recent times. 
• To dealing with this global threat made the United Nations (UN) schedule its first-ever high-level meeting on TB in New York on 26 September. 
• The meeting offered participating nations the potential to energize the discourse on TB and chart a roadmap for global action on TB.
• One of the major discussion points focused on accelerating research and development (R&D) efforts to end TB. 

Important facts about TB 

• This is particularly relevant for TB, a disease that continues to kill more than 1.3 million people globally every year. 
• While some countries have reduced their TB burden, the overall global progress against the disease has been slow. 
• The lack of advancement in TB R&D is one of the major reasons why the disease continues to thrive and exact a heavy toll on human life. 
• The facts speak for themselves: until 2016, we used a century-old microscopy test that detects only 50% of cases and treated TB patients with long drug regimens that have severe side effects.
• This gap in scientific progress has been a serious concern as there is now a consensus that to transform the TB elimination.
• We need better diagnostics and drugs, and an effective vaccine. 

Steps need to be taken 

• Research must be prioritized and countries need to increase their investments in TB R&D. 
• India has established the India TB Research Consortium (ITRC).
• ITRC has raised the profile of TB research, attracted investments in TB product development and conducted several validation studies on new TB tools. 
• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also recently taken steps to initiate trials for two new TB vaccine candidates. 
• India has made considerable progress in advancing TB research. 
• Recognizing this, the ICMR, under which the ITRC was formed, was awarded the prestigious Stop TB Kochon Prize for 2017.

Efforts made by other countries 

• The World Health Organization’s new guidelines on the treatment of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB need to be adopted swiftly. 
• These guidelines, which recommend the use of Bedaquiline as a frontline medicine to treat MDR TB.
• It will revolutionize TB treatment by minimizing the use of painful injectable drugs that are known to cause serious side effects. 
• We also need to focus more research efforts on developing biomarkers to determine those who are predisposed to develop active TB among the close contacts of TB patients so that efficient preventive therapy can be provided.
• Shorter and more efficient anti-TB regimens need to be developed to improve the adherence to treatment and decrease the failure and relapse rates.
• Research for the prevention of transmission of drug sensitive and drug resistant tuberculosis in the healthcare setting is critical. 

Conclusion 

• In the age of globalization, the containment of an infectious disease like TB within borders poses a considerable challenge, which is why eliminating the disease is a pressing global priority. 
• The recently concluded meeting saw the endorsement of a political declaration that underscored the criticality of research in our common goal of eliminating TB. 
• Hopefully, this will act as a starting point for countries’ efforts to advance future TB research.
• Those efforts built on the foundations of a collaborative spirit and a willingness to share individual strengths.

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UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) The 'Moscow Declaration' is related to:
(a) reduction in forced migration
(b) reduction in global pollution
(c) elimination of open defecation
(d) elimination of tuberculosis
Answer:  D

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) What are the steps needed to tackle TB in R&D sector globally?

In Good Faith: Sarvodaya for polarised times

In Good Faith: Sarvodaya for polarised times
Mains Paper: 1 | Society 
Prelims level: Sarvodaya
Mains level: Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.

Context

• In his 150th anniversary year, we ought to recall the words and actions of this great man who will remain an everlasting source of inspiration for the world.
• Some sections at more unease than others because of their community identities and markers.
• Today, when communal disharmony and enmities primarily between Hindus and Muslims.
• It have reached an unprecedented height that we need leaders with a Gandhian moral urgency to address the situation.
• For Gandhiji, India’s religious and linguistic diversity was an asset, not a liability.

Is this the India of Gandhiji’s dreams?

• We need to recall how Gandhiji had to deal with the similar issues in his day  most prominently immediately, during and just after Partition.
• His writings, speeches and actions did much to imbibe the moral ethos of a composite culture in the warring opposing communities.
• He didn’t allow the majoritarian perception about Islam and Muslims to become a verity.
• He proceeded to understand Islam and Muslims not through hearsay and tittle-tattle but his own reading of the Quran, the Prophet and Muslims he had lived and grown up with.
• He approached it with objectivity and sobriety and found Islam essentially to be a religion of peace and the Prophet as a pure soul with pious purpose.
• It was Gandhiji’s commitment to communal harmony that led him to engage with great freedom fighters like Maulana Mahmood Hasan and Maulana Husain Ahmed Madani.

Conclusion 

• As a nation, we must assure that our minorities must feel at home.
• Gandhiji’s ethical concepts and moral universe are capable of dealing with the violent sectarian politics that is being unleashed today.
• This capital, the biggest Satan of our time, has already destroyed lives in many poorer nations.
• It constantly puts up “enemies” as a trope to find new sources of profit.
• Our fight must remain, under all circumstances, non-violent.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

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UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) Vallabhai Patel participated in which of the following satyagrahas?
1. Kheda Satyagraha
2. Nagpur Flag Satyagraha
3. Borsad Punitive Tax Satyagraha

Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer:  D

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) Is this the India of Gandhiji’s dreams?

Censorship undermines democracy 

Mains Paper: 2 | Polity 
Prelims level: Desher Katha
Mains level: The cancellation of Registration Certificate issued to Daily Desher Katha could have a chilling effect 

Context

• It was a passionate plea to Parliament in England to reject censorship. Milton wrote: “As good almost kill a man as kill a good Book; who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, Gods image; but he who destoryes a good Booke, kills reason it selfe, kills the Image of God, as it were in the eye.”
• How does one look at the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI),
• The newspaper-licensing authority under the Government of India, invalidating the ‘Certificate of Registration’ awarded to the Daily Desher Katha that it had issued the same day?
• The Daily Desher Katha — the party organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the second largest circulated daily in Tripura.
• It was off the stands when the RNI withdrew its registration late night on October 1 based on inputs from the State administration.
• The RNI order, signed by Additional Press Registrar K. Satish Nambudiripad, said the certificate was withdrawn after the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Sadar West, Tripura., cancelled 
• The “authentication as recorded by him over the declaration made in Form 1.”

Change in ownership

• This was based on a complaint by one Shyamal Debnath, to District Magistrate Sandeep Mahatme. His contention was that the daily had changed its ownership without informing the RNI. 
• The print-line of the paper read that Samir Paul is the editor, printer and publisher and that the Daily Desher Katha Trust was the owner. 
• However, according to the RNI website, Gautam Das is the editor, printer and publisher, and the CPI(M) Tripura State Committee the owner.
• According to the CPI(M), this was not the paper’s fault, as all necessary documents have been provided for every change in the management and editorship of Daily Desher Katha . 
• When the paper came into existence on August 15, 1979, the year after the CPI(M) came to power in the State, it was owned by the Tripura State Committee of the CPI(M), and Gautam Das was the founder editor and publisher and printer of the daily. 
• In 2012, the party decided that the management of the newspaper should be handled by a ‘society’, and accordingly the Daily Desher Katha Society was formed. In 2015, with Gautam Das getting more preoccupied with party work, the Society decided that it would appoint a new editor, publisher and printer Samir Paul. 
• In September this year, the Daily Desher Katha Society decided to convert the ownership into a ‘Trust’, and the Daily Desher Katha Trust came into being, with Gautam Das as chairman of the trust.

Way forward 

• The Editors Guild of India has condemned the decision. 
• It said: “The Guild is of the view that cancellation of the registration of a publication on the mere finding that there was a mismatch between the information of the editor, printer and publisher is not only a gross overreaction but also a draconian step that throttles freedom of the media.
• It has demanded immediate revocation of the RNI order pending further inquiry into the charges of misinformation. 
• It also demands that a thorough inquiry is instituted by the government to investigate whether the decision was politically motivated.
• The courts may intervene and restore the newspaper in the days to come. The issue here is not about the final outcome of the legal battle. 
• The chill factor the ruling party can create among news organisations. It is worth remembering Milton’s saying four centuries ago: “Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.”

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UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) Consider the following statements regarding about Daily Desher Katha:
1.    It is a Bengali daily newspaper published from Agartala.
2.     Desher Katha was founded in 1979.
3.    It owners are CPIM Tripura State Committee. 
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer:  D

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) The recent fake news spread massive on Indian democracy. In this context explain role of media in democracy.  

(VIDEO) One World, One Sun, One Grid : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: One World, One Sun, One Grid : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Public Administration Mains 2017 : Solved Paper Question Paper-1 (Question-7)

(Section B)

Q7(a) “The Riggsian models of Fused –Prismatic-Diffracted Societies and their administrative systems have been inspired by Max Weber’s typology of Traditional Charismatic Legal-Rational Authorities .” Analyze( 20 marks) (Comparative Public Administration)

ANSWER:  Fred Riggs developed the “Fused-Prismatic-Diffracted” model to explain the differences between underdeveloped-developing-developed societies and their corresponding stage of development vis-a-vis their administrative structure and ethos. His ecological approach emphasizes the interaction between institutions and their contextual factors such as social structure, tradition and culture. This classification was inspired by the Max Weber’s typology of Traditional Charismatic Legal-Rational Authorities.

Charismatic: By virtue of possession of charisma or an exceptional quality, a hero or a leader casts a spell over his followers, who accept his domination because of their faith in the person.

Traditional: The legitimation in this form comes from the belief in the goodness of the past, in the appropriateness of traditional ways of doing things.

Legal: Legitimation of legal type of domination is based on the belief in the rightness of law.

Riggs introduced a new model for studying the bureaucracy in the Third World transitional, developing countries and argued that the Weberian model is not suitable for studying the administration in such countries. The Riggsian model called the “sala--prismatic” model of bureaucracy recognizes both administrative rationality and non-administrative considerations. This model is typical for developing countries having factors such family, kinship and caste considerations, community feeling, nepotism, corruption, which play important role in administrative recruitment, administrative functions and decision-making. This model is, however, considered too broad, too over-generalized and abstract.

(b) “Bureaucracy has inbuilt limitations to act as the prime catalyst to multi-faceted development in a democratic country”. Analyze this statement with appropriate examples ( 15 marks) (Development Dynamics)

ANSWER:  The bureaucracy and Development have been famous and complex terms and growth of sound Bureaucracy has been considered unavoidable for development. With end of colonialism and imperialism, there has been a constant change in the priority areas of government. Though the developing countries rely upon bureaucracy for their developmental requirements, the bureaucrats themselves owe their way of functioning to the imperialist requirements where people were subjugated to serve the interests of government in power.

After the countries gained independence, under planning raj, the attitude of those who were required to act as change agents did not change in a similar manner. This resulted in a slow pace of development. The reasons for such sub-optimal performance of bureaucrats are manifold like power-conflicts within as well as outside the bureaucratic arena, bribery, corruption, and nepotism play a significant role in deterring the system to function well but any effort to curb the menace will not succeed unless the bureaucracy itself is receptive to proposed changes.

c) Can be say that statutory audit and social audit are two sides of the same coin? Or, are they separate coins with varying values?(15 marks) (Accountability and Control)

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