UPSC Civil Services Exam: July 2014

Friday, July 18, 2014

Emergency powers of President

The President can declare three types of emergencies: national, state, financial.

National emergency

National emergency can be declared in the whole of India or a part of its territory on causes of war or armed rebellion or an external aggression. Such an emergency was declared in India in 1962 (Indo-China war), 1971 (Indo-Pakistan war), 1975 to 1977 (declared by Indira Gandhi on account of "internal disturbance").

Under Article 352 of the India Constitution, the President can declare such an emergency only on the basis of a written request by the Cabinet Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. Such a proclamation must be approved by the Parliament within one month. Such an emergency can be imposed for six months. It can be extended by six months by repeated parliamentary approval, there's no maximum duration.

In such an emergency, Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens can be suspended. The six freedoms under Right to Freedom are automatically suspended. However, the Right to Life and Personal Liberty cannot be suspended.(Article 21)

The President can make laws on the 66 subjects of the State List (which contains subjects on which the state governments can make laws). Also, all money bills are referred to the President for its approval. The term of the Lok Sabha can be extended by a period of up to one year, but not so as to extend the term of Parliament beyond six months after the end of the declared emergency.

State emergency

If the President is satisfied, on the basis of the report of the Governor of the concerned state or from other sources that the governance in a state cannot be carried out according to the provisions in the Constitution, he/she can declare a state of emergency in the state. Such an emergency must be approved by the Parliament within a period of 2 months.

Under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, it can be imposed from six months to a maximum period of three years with repeated parliamentary approval every six months. If the emergency needs to be extended for more than three years, this can be achieved by a constitutional amendment, as has happened in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

During such an emergency, the President can take over the entire work of the executive, and the Governor administers the state in the name of the President. The Legislative Assembly can be dissolved or may remain in suspended animation. The Parliament makes laws on the 66 subjects of the state list.

A State Emergency can be imposed via the following:

By Article 356 – If that state failed to run constitutionally i.e. constitutional machinery has failed
By Article 365 – If that state is not working according to the given direction of the Union Government.

This type of emergency needs the approval of the parliament within 2 months. It can last up to a maximum of three years via extensions after each 6-month period. However, after one year it can be extended only if

A state of National Emergency has been declared in the country or in the particular state.
The Election Commission finds it difficult to organise an election in that state.

On 19 January 2013, President's rule was imposed on the Indian State of Jharkhand, making it the latest state where this kind of emergency has been imposed.

Financial emergency

If the President is satisfied that there is an economic situation in which the financial stability or credit of India is threatened, he/she can then proclaim a financial emergency, as per the Article 360. Such an emergency must be approved by the Parliament within two months. It has never been declared.

A state of financial emergency remains in force indefinitely until revoked by the President.

The President can reduce the salaries of all government officials, including judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, in case of a financial emergency. All money bills passed by the State legislatures are submitted to the President for approval. He can direct the state to observe certain principles (economy measures) relating to financial matters.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) is a government agency in India, established in 1991 under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, that manages the Software Technology Park scheme. It is an export oriented scheme for the development and export of computer software, including export of professional services.

The STP Scheme provides various benefits to the registered units, which includes:

100% foreign equity,
tax incentives,
duty-free import,
duty-free indigenous procurement,
CST reimbursement,
DTA entitlement,
deemed export etc.

STPI has played a seminal role in India having earned a reputation as an information technology superpower. STP units exported software and information technology worth Rs. 215264 crore in FY 2010-11. The state with the largest export contribution was Karnataka followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. STPI has a presence in many of the major cities of India including the cities of Bangalore, Mysore, Trivandrum, Bhilai, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Pune, Guwahati, Noida, Mumbai, Nagpur, Kolkata, Kanpur, Lucknow, Dehradun, Patna, Rourkela, Ranchi, Gandhinagar-Gujarat, Surat, Imphal, Shillong, Nashik etc.

STPI centers provide variety of services, which includes:

High Speed Data Communication,
Incubation facility, Consultancy,
Network Monitoring,
Data Center,
Data Hosting etc.
provides physical hosting for the National Internet Exchange of India
regulating the STP scheme

The tax benefits under the Income Tax Act Section 10A applicable to STP units has expired since March 2011. While the Government has chosen not to extend the Sec 10A benefits against the demand by the IT units, most of the STP registered SME units shall be affected, who now will have to pay Income Tax on profits earned from exports.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

tropical cyclones

What is a tropical cyclone?

A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterised by a lowpressure centre, which produces strong winds and flooding rain. A tropical cyclone feeds on heat released by the condensation of moist air. The latent heat gets converted into kinetic energy and feeds the strong winds emerging out of it.

Cyclonic storms have counterclockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Developed over warm water bodies — ocean and seas — they lose their strength once they move over land. They also help in the global atmospheric circulation mechanism by carrying heat and energy away from tropics towards temperate latitudes.

What are the different types of tropical cyclones?

Tropical cyclones are formed in eight basins — Northern Atlantic, Northeastern Pacific, North Central Pacific, Northwestern Pacific, Northern Indian Ocean, Southwestern Indian Ocean, South and Southwestern Pacific and Southeastern Indian Ocean.

Each basin has a different naming system. In the North Atlantic Ocean, Northwest Pacific Ocean east of the International Date Line and South Pacific Ocean, they are called hurricanes. Typhoon is the name given to a tropical cyclone formed in the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline.

In the southwest Pacific Ocean and southeast Indian Ocean, it’s called a severe tropical cyclone. Similarly, tropical cyclones in the north Indian Ocean and southwest Indian Ocean are called severe cyclonic storm and tropical cyclone respectively.

What is a storm surge?

A storm surge is an offshore rise of water caused by the low-pressure system of a tropical cyclone. During the cyclone, high-speed winds start pushing on the ocean’s surface which piles the water up higher than sea level. The low-pressure centre of the cyclone adds to the surge and the combined effect causes flooding.

Why are cyclones named?

Tropical cyclones are named to provide ease of communication between forecasters and the public. Apart from this, they can often last a week or longer and the same basin can have more than one cyclone, hence giving a name reduces confusion. Naming of cyclones started in early 20th century when an Australian forecaster named the cyclone after politicians whom he disliked. Now, cyclones are given names contributed by member nations of the World Meteorological Organisation. The new names include those of men, women, flowers and so on. In the North Atlantic and Northeastern Pacific, feminine and masculine names are alternated in alphabetic order during a given season.

What is the process of naming cyclones?

The regional body responsible for monitoring a tropical cyclone in a particular basin makes a list of cyclone names for the particular basin. There are five such bodies which keep 10 pre-designated lists of cyclone names. The names are proposed by the member countries. For instance, the names of cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean are contributed by Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The super cyclone of 1999

On October 29, 1999, a super cyclone with a wind speed of 300 mph had struck Odisha, making it probably the greatest cyclonic disaster ever recorded in the last century.
It was first detected when it was at its low pressure stage over the gulf of Siam by the IMD cyclone surveillance system on the morning of October 24, five days before it made landfall.
Winds of up to 260 kph raged for over 36 hours.
Coastal districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Ganjam were forced to evacuate their homes.
Landfall point:Between Ersama and Balikuda in Jagatsinghpur district (southwest of Paradip)
Time of landfall 10.30 am, October 29, 1999
Eye of storm: Paradip
High wind speed : The wind speed of the super cyclone was so high that the anemometer, a device used for measuring wind speed, at the IMD office and at Paradip had failed to record it.
Three days of torrential rain : The super cyclone centred over coastal areas of Odisha for three days was accompanied by torrential rain as a tidal surge of about 7 to 10 metre that swept more than 20 km inland.
Diameter of cyclone: 200 km
Originated from 1999 super cyclone had originated from about 550 km east of the Andaman Islands as a depression Storm Surge While the impending storm Phailin may cause a storm surge of about 1.5- 2 metre this time, the state witnessed it at 7 -10 metre in 1999.
Districts and towns affected : The storm in 1999 led to 45 cm to 95 cm of rainfall and affected 14 coastal districts, 28 coastal towns and two major cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
Death toll : While the official death toll then was 9,885 people, unofficial sources estimated the toll to be above 50,000. An estimated 1,500 children were orphaned. Of the total casualty, Jagatsinghpur district alone had accounted for 8,119 people.
Affected people : At least 13 million people, including 3.3 million children, 5 million women and nearly 3.5 million elderly people were affected in 1999.
Injured people : The storm had left 7,505 people injured
Livestock lost : 3,15,886 head of cattle
`Roof snatched : 16,50,086 houses damaged, 23,129 houses washed away, 7,46,337 houses fully destroyed and 8,80,620 houses partially damaged

Monday, July 14, 2014

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

ADB was established in Dec. 1966 on the recommendation of ECAFE (Economic Commission for Asia and Far East). The aim of this Bank is to accelerate economic and social development in Asia and Pacific region. The Bank started its functioning on January 1, 1967. The head office of the Bank is located at Manila, Philippines. It is worth mentioning here the Chairmanship of ADB is always allotted to a Japanese while its three Deputy Chairman belong to USA, Europe and Asia. At present, 63 nations are partner members of ADB.

The principle functions of ADB are:

To make loans and equity investments for the economic and social advancement of its developing member countries.
To provide technical assistance for the preparation and execution of development projects and programs and advisory services.
To respond to the request for assistance in coordinating development policies and plans in developing member countries.

Asian Development Bank constituted ‘Asian Development Fund’ in 1974, which provides loans to Asian countries on concessional interest rates. India started borrowing from ADB’s Ordinary Capital Resources (OCR) in 1986.

Reserve Bank of India

It is the Central Bank of the country. The Reserve Bank of India was established in 1935 with a capital of Rs. 5 crore. This capital of Rs. 5 crore was divided into 5 lakh equity shares of 100 each. In the beginning the ownership of almost all the share capital was with the non-government share holders. In order to prevent the centralisation of equity shares in hand of a few people The Reserve Bank of India was nationalised on January 1, 1949.

The general administration and direction of RBI is managed by a Central Board of Directors consiting of 20 members which includes one Governor, four Deputy Governors, one Government Official appointed by the Union Government of India to give representation to important strata in economic life of the country besides four directors are nominated by the Union Government to represent local boards. Apart from the central board there are four local boards also and their head offices are situated in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and New Delhi. Five members of local boards are appointed by the Union Government for a period of four years. The local boards work according to the instructions and orders given by Board of Directors, and from time to time they also tender useful advice on important matter. The office of RBI is in Mumbai.

Functions of Reserve Bank of India

Issue of Notes - The Reserve Bank has the monopoly of note issue in the country it has the sole right to issue currency notes of various denominations except one rupees notes. The Reserve Bank act as a only source of legal tender money because the one rupee note issued by the Ministry of Finance are also circulated through it. The Reserve Bank has adopted the Minimum Reserve System for note issue. Since 1957, it maintains the gold and foreign reserve of Rs. 200 crore, of which at least Rs. 115 crore should be in gold.
Banker to the Government - The second important function of the Reserve Bank of India is to act as the banker, agent, and adviser to the Government. It performs all the banking functions of the State and the Central Government and it also tenders useful advice to the Government on matters related to economic and monetary policy. It also manages the public debt for the Government.
Bankers’ Bank - The Reserve Bank performs the same function for the other banks ordinarily perform for their customers. It is not only banker to the commercial bank, but it is the lender of the last resort.
Controller of Credit - The Reserve Bank undertakes the responsibility of controlling credit created by the commercial banks. To achieve this objective it makes extensive use of quantitative and qualitative techniques to control and regulate the credit effectively in the country.
Custodian of Foreign Reserves - For the purpose of keeping the foreign exchange rates stable the Reserve Bank buy and sells the foreign currencies and also protect the country’s foreign exchange funds.
Other Functions - The bank performs a number of other developmental works. These works include the function of clearing house arranging credit for agriculture (which has been transferred to NABARD), collecting and publishing the economic data, buying and selling of Government Securities and Trade Bill, giving loans to the Government, buying and selling of valuable commodities etc. It also act as representative of Government in IMF and represents the membership of India.