(Sample Content) Gist of Yojana From Current Affairs Book For IAS Pre 2011

Sample Content: "Gist of Yojana"

The Indo-us Nuclear Deal : Basic Facts

• India and the United States signed a landmark deal in October 2008, which allows India access to US civil nuclear fuel and technology. What is it that makes this deal so significant? How does India stand to gain from it? Here are some answers to these questions:

What is the Indo-U.S. Civilian Nuclear Deal?

• This is a deal between India and the United States for civil nuclear cooperation. Under this agreement, the United States can sell civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India. India in turn, has to separate its civil and military nuclear facilities and place all its civil nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) inspection. The accord took three years to be finalized, during which it went through a series of complex stages that included amendment of U.S. domestic law, formulation of a civil-military nuclear separation plan in India, an India-IAEA safeguards (inspections) agreement and the grant of an exemption for India by the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG).

What are the Hyde Act and the 123 Agreement?

• Under Section 123 of its Atomic Energy Act, the United States can enter into civilian nuclear trade only with those countries that have signed the NPT and CTBT. India has signed neither treaty. Further, after its first nuclear test in 1974, the United States had placed a ban on the supply of nuclear fuel and technology to India. In order to sign the present deal, the section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act needed to be amended. The Hyde Act 2006, a domestic Act of the United States, was accordingly brought in to amend this Section and provide a legal framework for a 123 Agreement with India. With this agreement India becomes the only non-NPT/CTBT signatory to have signed the 123 Agreement with the United States.

Who are the Nuclear Suppliers Group?

• Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a 45 nation body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling trade in nuclear fuel and technology. Their policies had so far kept India out of bounds of international nuclear trade as it has not signed the NPT and CTBT. Some countries in the NSG had misgivings about giving India the unprecedented waiver of carrying on international civil nuclear trade even without signing the NPT, but the approval finally came through keeping in view India’s strong non-proliferation records, and its voluntary declaration of “no first use” of nuclear weapons.

What does India get from the Agreement?

• Indo-US Civil nuclear deal has paved the way for the growth of the nuclear power sector in India, which has so far been plagued by shortages of nuclear fuel. India has limited reserves of Uranium, which is the crucial fuel needed at the present stage of our nuclear power program.
• India’s nuclear power generation is only about 1800 Mw against an installed capacity of 4120 Mw. With the present agreement, which is valid for 40 years and extend able by another 10 years, India hopes to address this fuel shortage. Under this agreement the US is committed to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply to safeguard Indian reactors and create strategic fuel reserves for them, and also work with other NSG countries to ensure supply of nuclear fuel to India. The ambit of the deal includes research, development, design, construction, operation, maintenance and use of nuclear reactors, reactor experiments and decommissioning. To ensure smoothness, the agreement provides for elaborate consultations between the two parties in the event of either side wanting to terminate the deal before its normal time
• Further, the agreement also lays down the clause of “non-interference” in India’s strategic program. Thus, the Indian nuclear power program stands to get a much needed push without any threat to its strategic program.
  And what does India give?
• As part of the bargain India has agreed for separation of its nuclear facilities, placing the civilian facilities under IAEA safeguards in perpetuity. The safeguard is aimed at ensuring that the nuclear material or technology brought in for civilian purposes is not diverted for military use. Out of its 22 operating/under construction nuclear facilities, India will place 14 under IAEA safeguard.

Reducing GHG Emissions: The Kyoto Mechanisms

• The Kyoto Protocol has put in place three flexibility mechanisms to reduce emission of Green House Gases. Although the Protocol places maximum responsibility of reducing emissions on the developed countries by committing them to specific emission targets, the three mechanisms are based on the premise that reduction of emissions in any part of the globe will have the same desired effect on the atmosphere, and also that some developed countries might find it easier and more cost effective to support emissions reductions in other developed or developing countries rather than at home. These mechanisms thus provide flexibility to the Annexure I countries, helping them to meet their emission reduction obligations. Let us take a look at what these mechanisms are.

What are the three flexibility mechanisms put in place of the Kyoto Protocol for reducing GHG emission?

• The three mechanisms are joint implementation. Emissions Trading and Clean Development

What is Joint Implementation?

• Through the Joint Implementation, any Annex I country can invest in emission reduction projects (referred to as joint Implementation Project) in any other Annex I country as an alternative to reducing emissions domestically.
• Two early examples are change from a wet to a dry process at a Ukraine cement works, reducing energy consumption by 53 percent by 2008-2012; and rehabilitation of a Bulgarian hydropower project, with a 267,000 ton reduction of C02 equivalent during 2008-2012.

What is Clean Development Mechanism?

• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows-’ developed country with an emission reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to implement an emission reduction project in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries. In exchange for the amount of reduction In emission thus achieved, the investing gets carbon credits which it can offset against its Kyoto targets. The developing country gains a Step towards sustainable development.
• To get a CDM project registered and implemented, the investing country’ has to first take approval from the designated national authority in the host country, establish “Additionally”, define baselines and get the project validated by a third party agency, called a Designated Operational Entity (DOE). The Executive Body of CDM registers the project and issues credits, called Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), or carbon credits, where each unit is equivalent to the reduction of one metric tonne of C02 or its equivalent. There are more than 4200 CDM projects in the pipeline as on 14.3.2010. The expected CERs till the end of2012 is 2,900,000,000

What is “Additionality” in a CDM project ?

• The feature of “additionality” is a crucial element of a CDM project it means that the industrialized country that is seeking to establish the CDM project in the developing country and earns carbon credits from it has to establish that the planned carbon reductions would not have occurred on its own, in the absence of the CDM project. They have to establish a baseline of the project. Which is the emission level that would have been there in the absence of the project. The difference between this baseline level and the (lower) emission level achieved as a result of the project is the carbon credit due to the investing country

What are some of the concerns regarding CDM?

• The risk of “false Credits” is a cause for concern with regard to CDM projects. If a project does not actually offer an additionally and the reduction in emission would have happened anyway Even without the project.

Sample Content: "Gist of Yojana"

The Women’s Reservation Bill:

• It was a momentous development when the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on the 9th of March, 2010. For more than ten years now, the Bill has led to heated debates in the Parliament, with supporters saying that it will pave the way for an active participation of women in politics, and detractors saying that it will benefit only a narrow spectrum of privileged women. Let us take a look at what the Bill has to offer, and what the controversy is all about.

What does the Women’s Reservation Bill provide?

• The Women’s Reservation Bill is a proposed legislation to reserve 33.3 per cent of seats in Parliament and State legislatures for women. This would mean reserving 181 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha and 1,370 out of a total of 4,109 seats in the 28 State Assemblies for women. In case of seats reserved for SC-ST candidates, 33.3 percent would have to be reserved for women. The reservation of seats is proposed to be on rotation basis, which means that the 33.3 % seats reserved in one election would cease to be reserved in the next election. In its place, another set of seats totaling 33.3 % would get reserved. The provision for reservation is proposed to be in place for 15 years.
• The Bill is an extension of the 33.3 % reservation of seats for women in the Panchayats to the State Legislatures and the Parliament. Reservation for women in Panchayats has resulted in probably one of the largest mobilization of women in public life in the world.

How did the Bill originate?

• The proposed legislation was first introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 12, 1996 by the United Front government as the 81 st Constitutional Amendment Bill. In 1998 it was re-introduced in the 12th Lok Sabha as the 84th Constitutional Amendment Bill by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. It was reintroduced again in 1999, 2002, 2003. In 2004 it was included in the Common Minimum Program of the UPA government. All these years the Bill could not be passed because of lack of political consensus. It was again tabled in the Rajya Sabha in 2008, and has now been passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010.

What is the objective of the Bill?

• The Bill is aimed at fostering gender equality in Parliament, which in turn would lead to the women as a whole. It is expected that increased political participation will help Indian women fight against the age old discrimination and deprivation they have been subjected to, and the inequality they suffer from. The Bill, it is felt, would create a level playing field for the women to enhance their presence and status in politics initially and in society eventually.

What are the apprehensions regarding the Bill?

• Some political parties are apprehensive that the reservation for women would rob the chances of many of their male leaders to fight elections. Coupled with the reservation that already exists for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, a further reservation for women would be discriminatory for other sections of people. Others say that the reservation would benefit only elite women, causing further discrimination and under representation to the poor and backward classes. They are opposed to the bill in its present form and want a quota within quota for women from backward classes. It is also felt that rotation of seats being reserved may reduce the commitment of the elected MPs to their constituencies as their chances of getting reelected would be very little.

What is the status of the Bill now?

• The Bill, which is also the Constitution (108thAmendment) Bill, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 9th March 2010. It will now be tabled in Lok Sabha. Once approved by both houses, it will be sent for Presidential consent and then become a law, giving 33% reservation to women in Parliament and State Assemblies. The reservation will remain in place for 15 years and then be extended, if necessary.

Human Development Index:

What is the Human Development index (HDl)?

• HDI is a composite statistic used as an index to rank countries level of “human development” The statistic is composed from statistics for life expectancy education, and standard of living, collected at the national level using a predetermined formula. The HDI looks beyond GDP for a better definition of well being. It provides a composite measure of three dimension of human development:
  (i) Living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy),
  (ii) Being educated (measured by literacy and gross enrolment in education)
  (iii) Having a decent standard, of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income).
• The index is not a comprehensive measure of human development. It does not include important indicators such as gender or income inequality nor concepts like respect for human rights and political freedoms. But it provides a broadened prism for viewing human progress and the I complex relationship between income and well-being.

How was HDI Formulated?

• The origins of the HDI are to be round in the United Nations Development Programs(UNDP) Human Development Reports (HDRs).These were devised and launched by Pakistani Economist Mahbubul  in 1990lwith the purpose of shifting the focus of development economics from national income accounting to people centered policies.

How does India fare in the Human Development Report of 2009 ?

• Between 1980 to 2007, India’s HDI rose by 1.33% annually from 0.427 to 0.612. HDI scores in all regions have increased progressively over the years although there have been periods of slower growth or even reversals.
• The Human Development Report of 2009 pertains to figures for 2007. As per this Report, India ranks 134th out of 182 nations, With an HDI of 0.612. With Life expectancy of 63.4 years we ranked 128th among 176 nations, with adult Literacy Rate of 66 % we linked 120 among 150s. Our Combined Gross Enrolment ratio of 61 % placed us at rank 134 among 177 nations and our per capita income of 2753 placed us at rank 128 among 181 nations.

What is Human Poverty Index?

• Human Poverty Index or HPI-l focuses on the proportion of people below certain threshold levels in each of the dimensions of the Human Development Index - living a long and healthy life, having access to education, and a decent standard of living. By looking beyond income deprivation, the HPI -1 represents a multi-dimensional alternative to the $1.25 a day (PPP US$) poverty measure.
• The HPI-1 measures severe deprivation in health by the proportion of people who are not expected to survive to age 40. Education is measured by the adult illiteracy rate. And a decent standard of living is measured by the un weighted average of people not using an improved water source and the proportion of children under age 5 who are underweight for their age .
• With an HPI-l value of 28.0% India, ranks 88th among 135 countries for which the index has been calculated.
• With 15.5% people not having the probability to live beyond 40, India ranks 105th among 153 countries, with 11% people not using improved water source India ranked 76th among 150 counties, with Adult Literacy rate of 34% India was at rank 120 among 151 countries and with 46% children underweight for their age we ranked 138 counties.

What is Gender Related Development Index?

• Introduced in Human Development Report 1995, Gender related Development Index or GDI measures achievements in the same dimensions using the same indicators as the HDI but captures inequalities in achievement between women and men. It is simply the HDI adjusted downward for gender inequality. The greater the gender disparity in basic human development, the lower is a country’s GDI relative to its HDI. India’s GDI value, 0.594 should be compared to its HDI value of 0.612. Its GDI value is 97.1 % of its HDI value. Out of the 155 countries with both HDI and GDI values, 138 countries have a better ratio than India’s.

What are Millennium Development Goals ?

• The Millennium Development Goals or MDGs are eight turnaround goals that provide concrete, numerical benchmarks for tackling extreme poverty in its many dimensions. Adopted by world leaders in the year 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015, the MDGs are both global and local, tailored by each country to suit specific development needs. They provide a framework for the entire international Community to work together towards a common end - making sure that human development reaches everyone, everywhere. The eight goals include -
  (1) Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger;
  (2) Achieving universal primary education;
  (3) Promoting gender equality & empowering women;
  (4) Reducing child mortality;
  (5) Improving maternal health;
  (6) Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
  (7) Ensuring environmental sustainability;
  (8) Developing global partnership for development. These goals further break down into 21 quantifiable targets that are measured by 60indicator.

Rain Water Harvesting:

What is rainwater harvesting?

• Rainwater harvesting is the storing and collection of rain water that runs off from tops of roofs, open spaces like parks and roads or especially prepared ground. This water can be used variously for purposes like drinking (after treatment), household use, livestock or even irrigation. It is also used for recharging groundwater, that is replenishing the water that has been extracted from the aquifers.

Why should rainwater be harvested?

• Much of the water that we receive as rain simply runs off and gets wasted. In a country like ours where there is so much of pressure on water resources due to growing population pressures, it makes immense sense for us to store up this water and put it to good use. This water can be a useful supplement to the water available from other sources, thereby augmenting the total water availability. In fact, in some regions, rain is the only source of water available, and that too, in highly erratic spurts. In such regions harvesting of rainwater is the best option available to people, and has been known to bring about marked betterment in their living conditions, for example in many parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
• Rainwater harvesting is also very important for recharge of groundwater as there has been massive over extraction of ground water in many parts of the country. Rainwater harvesting not only replenishes the store of underground water, it also improves its quality by effecting dilution of pollutants and other harmful substances.
• Besides these, rainwater harvesting also prevents local flooding in many areas, caused by the run off water.

How can rainwater be harvested?

• A major point in favor of rainwater harvesting is that the structure for this can be made from inexpensive, locally available material. It works both in individual households and for small communities. Rainwater harvesting structures can be made anywhere - individual homes, apartments, offices, institutions, slums, cities, villages - and anyone - individuals or small communities.
• Rainwater harvesting structures can be simple or complex. The main components in a rainwater harvesting system consist of a catchment area from where water is collected - this could be either from the ground like parks, playgrounds, roads, pavements, agricultural field etc, or from the rooftops - the channel or conduit through which water passes from the catchment structure into the storage area - these could be drains, pipes, rectangular or semi circular gutters or channels made of PVC material, galvanized iron sheets or even bamboo trunks cut vertically into two and the storage tank or other structures where the water gets collected. The size of tanks would depend on the amount of water available and the amount needed for use. The tanks can be made from RCC, plastic, galvanized iron etc. Even dried bore wells, tube wells etc can be used for collecting water. If rainwater is being harvested for recharge purposes, there need to be appropriate structures for this, for example subsurface dykes built into an aquifer, recharge of abandoned wells, service tube wells, recharge pits etc. Besides these the rainwater harvesting structures also requires arrangements to maintain the quality of water. Thus there have to be arrangements to ensure that the first flush of rainwater which would contain contaminants, is allowed to flow out. Filters made of cloth, charcoal, sand etc are put in place to filter out pollutants.