UPSC Civil Services Exam: May 2016

Saturday, May 21, 2016

The International Criminal Court (ICC)

The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community:

Genocide
War crimes
Crimes against humanity.

The Court is participating in a global fight to end impunity, and through international criminal justice, the Court aims to hold those responsible accountable for their crimes and to help prevent these crimes from happening again.

It seeks to complement, not replace, national Courts. Governed by an international treaty called the Rome Statute, the ICC is the world’s first permanent international criminal court.

Key features

1. Trials are fair: ICC judges conduct judicial proceedings and ensure the fairness of proceedings.

2. The Prosecution is independent: The Office of the Prosecutor is an independent organ of the Court. The Prosecutor conducts preliminary examinations, investigations and is the only one who can bring cases before the Court.

3. Defendants' rights are upheld: Defendants are entitled to public, fair proceedings that they can follow in a language they fully understand. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty after a trial. The Rome Statute grabts the defendant the right:

To be informed of the charges,
To have time and facilities to prepare their defence and
To be tried without undue delay,
To freely choose a lawyer,
To examine witnesses and present evidence,
Not to be compelled to testify or to confess guilt,
To remain silent,
To receive from the Prosecutor evidence which he or she believes shows or tends to show the innocence of the accused, or to mitigate the guilt of the accused,
To be able to follow the proceedings in a language he or she fully understands, and therefore to have an interpreter and translations as required.

The International Criminal Court (ICC)

Facts and Figures:

Today the Court has:

Over 800 staff members: From approximately 100 States.
6 official languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.
6 field offices: Kinshasa and Bunia (Democratic Republic of the Congo, "DRC"); Kampala (Uganda); Bangui (Central African Republic, "CAR"); Nairobi (Kenya), Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire).
2 working languages: English and French.
Headquarters: The Hague, the Netherlands.
2016 budget: €139.5 million.

Founding treaty: The Rome Statute

The creation of the Rome Statute in 1998 was in itself a historic event, marking a milestone in humankind's efforts towards a more just world.

The Rome Statute then took effect in 2002, upon ratification by 60 States. In addition to founding the Court and defining the crimes of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and – as of amendments made in 2010 – the crime of aggression (for these amendments to enter into force, they must be ratified by at least 30 States and then voted upon by States Parties in 2017), the Rome Statute also sets new standards for victims' representation in the Courtroom, and ensures fair trials and the rights of the defence. The Court seeks global cooperation to protect all people from the crimes codified in the Rome Statute.

Today the treaty serves as the ICC's guiding legal instrument, which is elaborated in such other legal texts as the Elements of Crimes, Rules of Procedure and Evidence and more.

The crimes

The Court's founding treaty, called the Rome Statute, grants the ICC jurisdiction over four main crimes.

Genocide: the crime of genocide is characterised by the specific intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members or by other means: causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Crimes against humanity, which are serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population. The 15 forms of crimes against humanity listed in the Rome Statute include offences such as murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement – particularly of women and children, sexual slavery, torture, apartheid and deportation.
War crimes which are grave breaches of the Geneva conventions in the context of armed conflict and include, for instance, the use of child soldiers; the killing or torture of persons such as civilians or prisoners of war; intentionally directing attacks against hospitals, historic monuments, or buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes.
Crime of aggression: It is the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, integrity or independence of another State. The definition of this crime was adopted through amending the Rome Statute at the first Review Conference of the Statute in Kampala, Uganda, in 2010. For these amendments to enter into force, they must be ratified by at least 30 States and then voted upon by States Parties in 2017.

Ten key facts about the legal process

Further to the Key Features listed above, here are some of the basics you may want to know:

The ICC does not prosecute those under the age of 18 when a crime was committed.
Before the Prosecutor can investigate, she must conduct a preliminary examination considering such matters as sufficient evidence, jurisdiction, gravity, complementarity, and the interests of justice.
When investigating, the Prosecutor must collect and disclose both incriminating and exonerating evidence.
The defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof lies with the Prosecutor.
During all stages of proceedings (Pre-Trial, Trial and Appeals), the defendant has the right to information in a language he or she fully understands, thus the ICC proceedings are conducted in multiple languages, with teams of interpreters and translators at work.
Pre-Trial judges issue warrants of arrest and ensure there is enough evidence before a case can go to trial.
Before a case is committed to trial (during the Pre-Trial phase), the defendant is referred to as a suspect. Once the case is committed to trial, since at that point the charges have been confirmed, the defendant is referred to as the accused.
Trial judges hear the evidence from the Prosecutor, Defence, and the Victims’ lawyers, render a verdict, and if a person is found guilty, the sentence and decision on reparations.
Appeals judges render decisions on appeals from the Prosecutor or Defence.
If a case is closed without a verdict of guilt, it can be reopened if the Prosecutor presents new evidence.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

In January earlier this year, in a move aimed at reducing the recurrence of agricultural distress without having to effect hefty hikes in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP), Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance government had announced a crop insurance scheme named Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

Being implemented from Kharif season of 2016, the premium paid by farmers had been reduced to 2% of the insured value for the more rain-dependent kharif crop and 1.5% for the rabi season, compared with 3.5-8% charged for the two earlier schemes:

National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS)
Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS)

In the case of horticultural crops, farmers’ premium burden will be 5% of the sum assured or 50% of the total premium.

National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) have been discontinued from Kharif 2016, but the ongoing Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) and Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme would continue to operate while premium to be paid under WBCIS has been brought on a par with PMFBY.

New crop insurance scheme would provide a solution for the farmers problems in times of difficulty. Care had been taken to eliminate the shortcomings of previous crop insurance schemes, and create trust among farmers with regard to crop insurance. Technology would be used extensively with this scheme to ensure early settlement of claims, and exhorted farmers to take benefit of this scheme.

Under the PMFBY, there would be no upper limit on government subsidy on premium provided by centre and state governments. Even if the balance premium (after farmers’ contribution) is 90%, it will be borne by the government. In the earlier schemes, there was a provision of capping the premium rate which resulted in low claims being paid to farmers. This capping on premium was done to limit the government outgo on the premium subsidy. This would ensure that farmers get the full sum insured without any reduction or hassles from the 11 designated insurance companies if natural calamities ravage their crops. The crop insurance coverage is set to rise from 45 million hectares or 23% of the area under cultivation at present to 50% of the crop area by 2018-19.

Another benefit to farmers under the new crop insurance scheme is that losses incurred by them at any stage of the farming activity — from the sowing to the post-harvest season — would be covered. Earlier, only post-harvest losses can be offset by the insurance facility under the two existing schemes. Also, even those farmers who haven’t taken bank loans will be eligible for insurance cover under PMFBY.

Features:

The new scheme will increase farmers income and resultant increase in rural demand.
The subsidy would be borne by the Centre and the state government concerned equally.
The use of technology which would be encouraged to a great extent.
Smart phones will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers.
Remote sensing will be used to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments.
In case there is crop loss to a loanee farmer who is not insured, the bank will have to make good the losses.

PMFBY if implemented properly across the country would mitigate farm distress to a large extent especially when the erratic climates have become a norm rather than exception.

Minimum Support Prices (MSP)

Minimum Support Price

Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. The minimum support prices are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). MSP is price fixed by Government of India to protect the producer - farmers - against excessive fall in price during bumper production years. The minimum support prices are a guarantee price for their produce from the Government. The major objectives are to support the farmers from distress sales and to procure food grains for public distribution. In case the market price for the commodity falls below the announced minimum price due to bumper production and glut in the market, government agencies purchase the entire quantity offered by the farmers at the announced minimum price.

Historical perspective of MSP

The Price Support Policy of the Government is directed at providing insurance to agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. The minimum guaranteed prices are fixed to set a floor below which market prices cannot fall. Till the mid 1970s, Government announced two types of administered prices :

Minimum Support Prices (MSP)
Procurement Prices

The MSPs served as the floor prices and were fixed by the Government in the nature of a long-term guarantee for investment decisions of producers, with the assurance that prices of their commodities would not be allowed to fall below the level fixed by the Government, even in the case of a bumper crop. Procurement prices were the prices of kharif and rabi cereals at which the grain was to be

domestically procured by public agencies (like the FCI) for release through PDS. It was announced soon after harvest began. Normally procurement price was lower than the open market price and higher than the MSP. This policy of two official prices being announced continued with some variation upto 1973-74, in the case of paddy. In the case of wheat it was discontinued in 1969 and then revived in 1974-75 for one year only. Since there were too many demands for stepping up the MSP, in 1975-76, the present system was evolved in which only one set of prices was announced for paddy (and other kharif crops) and wheat being procured for buffer stock operations.

Determination of MSP

In formulating the recommendations in respect of the level of minimum support prices and other non-price measures, the Commission takes into account, apart from a comprehensive view of the entire structure of the economy of a particular commodity or group of commodities, the following factors:-

Cost of production
Changes in input prices
Input-output price parity
Trends in market prices
Demand and supply
Inter-crop price parity
Effect on industrial cost structure
Effect on cost of living
Effect on general price level
International price situation
Parity between prices paid and prices received by the farmers.
Effect on issue prices and implications for subsidy

The Commission makes use of both micro-level data and aggregates at the level of district, state and the country. The information/data used by the Commission, inter-alia include the following :-

Cost of cultivation per hectare and structure of costs in various regions of the country and changes there in;
Cost of production per quintal in various regions of the country and changes therein;
Prices of various inputs and changes therein;
Market prices of products and changes therein;
Prices of commodities sold by the farmers and of those purchased by them and changes therein;
Supply related information - area, yield and production, imports, exports and domestic availability and stocks with the Government/public agencies or industry;
Demand related information - total and per capita consumption, trends and capacity of the processing industry;
Prices in the international market and changes therein, demand and supply situation in the world market;
Prices of the derivatives of the farm products such as sugar, jaggery, jute goods, edible/non-edible oils and cotton yarn and changes therein;
Cost of processing of agricultural products and changes therein;
Cost of marketing - storage, transportation, processing, marketing services, taxes/fees and margins retained by market functionaries; and
Macro-economic variables such as general level of prices, consumer price indices and those reflecting monetary and fiscal factors.

Source : Farmer Portal

Crops for which MSP is announced

Minimum support prices are currently announced for 25 commodities. They are as follows.

Cereals (7) - paddy, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize and ragi
Pulses (5) - gram, arhar/tur, moong, urad and lentil
Oilseeds (8) - groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, toria, soyabean, sunflower seed, sesamum, safflower seed and nigerseed
Copra
Raw cotton
Raw jute
Sugarcane
Virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco

Monday, May 16, 2016

Right to Education

The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India to provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means that every child has a right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards.

Article 21-A and the RTE Act came into effect on 1 April 2010. The title of the RTE Act incorporates the words ‘free and compulsory’. ‘Free education’ means that no child, other than a child who has been admitted by his or her parents to a school which is not supported by the appropriate Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. ‘Compulsory education’ casts an obligation on the appropriate Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14 age group. With this, India has moved forward to a rights based framework that casts a legal obligation on the Central and State Governments to implement this fundamental child right as enshrined in the Article 21A of the Constitution, in accordance with the provisions of the RTE Act.

The RTE Act provides for the:

Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school.

It clarifies that ‘compulsory education’ means obligation of the appropriate government to provide free elementary education and ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education to every child in the six to fourteen age group. ‘Free’ means that no child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education.

It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class.

It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and compulsory education, and sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.

It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, school-working days, teacher-working hours.

It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the specified pupil teacher ratio is maintained for each school, rather than just as an average for the State or District or Block, thus ensuring that there is no urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings. It also provides for prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than decennial census, elections to local authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.

It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e. teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.

It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b) screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition,

It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round development of the child, building on the child’s knowledge, potentiality and talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety through a system of child friendly and child centred learning.

National Biodiversity Authority

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was signed by the Community and all the Member States at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992, and come into effect in 29th December 1993. It is an international legally binding treaty. The Convention has three main goals:

conservation of biological diversity
sustainable use of its components
fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources

For realizing the objectives of CBD, Government of India enacted an umbrella legislation called the biological Diversity Act 2002 aimed at conservation of biological resources and associated knowledge as well as facilitating access to them in a sustainable manner and through a just process.

To implement this Act central government established a body called as National Biodiversity Authority, under the power conferred by section 8 of CBD Act. It started functioning from 1st October 2003. The NBA is an Autonomous body .The main functions of the Authority are, according to Ministry of environment and forest.
It shall be the duty of the National Biodiversity Authority to regulate activities referred to in sections 3, 4 and 6 and by regulations issue guidelines for access to biological resources and for fair and equitable benefit sharing.
The National Biodiversity Authority may grant approval for undertaking any activity referred to in sections 3, 4 and 6.
The National Biodiversity Authority may advise the Central Government on matters relating to the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of biological resources;
The National Biodiversity Authority may advise the State Governments in the selection of areas of biodiversity importance to be notified under sub‑section (1) of section 37 as heritage sites and measures for the management of such heritage sites;
The National Biodiversity Authority may perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
The National Biodiversity Authority may, on behalf of the Central Government, take any measures necessary to oppose the grant of intellectual property rights in any country outside India on any biological resource obtained from India or knowledge associated with such biological resource which is derived from India.

It is a 3 tier system

At national Level: National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)
At State Level: State Biodiversity Boards (SBB’s) – Advise the State Governments, subject to guidelines issued by the Central Government, on matters relating to conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of utilization of biological resources.
On local Level: Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC’s) – Prepare, maintain and validate People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR) in consultation with the local people. T Advice on any matter referred to it by the State Biodiversity Board or Authority for granting approval.

Currently there are SBBs in 26 States, and around 33,426 BMCs. BMC’s can be a major tool for implementation this whole system but actually it is not working. There are not all areas of country which have proper BMC’s working there and this register maintenance is these days is just a matter of formality. Current chairman of authority is Dr. Balakrishna Pisupati , and office is situated at Chennai.

Biological Diversity Act 2002

(Sources: National Biodiversity Authority, MEOF )

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana | Free LPG Gas Connection Scheme

A unique Indian central government scheme to extend availability of cooking gas to the women who belong to households that are Below Poverty Line (BPL). It is well known that India with its vast rural area have a huge population who are yet resorting to usage of cooking fuel that is both unclean as well as damaging to the environment at large. Due their low income status, such families are unable to afford the LPG which is used in other households.

Objective behind the Ujjwala Yojana Scheme

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme aims at bridging this gap by providing the LPG to families living in BPL for no cost. While the aim is to provide this clean cooking gas advantage to the entire family, it has a second aim and that is to empower the women of the country who run the household.

Below listed table elaborates the impact of using unclean fuels for cooking

S.No	Impact of Using unclean Cooking Fuel	Explanation
1	Climate Change	According to recently survey nearly 3 billion people all around the world uses Unclean / Improper fuel for their cooking. Owning to that Immense black carbon emitted which plays vital role in affecting earth climate by increasing heat waves and affects greenhouse gases.
2	Affects Household Air Pollution	World Health Organization recently announced that near about 4 million premature deaths are happened because of the increasing household air pollution. Household air quality mainly affects because of using improper/Unclean fuel for cooking in home.
3	Affects Women’s Health	In most cases, women’s are the one who gets serious impact over the impure air released from unclean cooking fuels. Studies examined that burning solid fuels for household cooking will results emitting lot of black carbon which is injurious for health.
4	Leads to Deforestation	Using solid fuel will results in deforestation which will leads to global eco system problem by affecting greenhouse gases. Often Deforestations increases heat waves and reduced rainfall amount globally.
5	Impact of Using Solid Biomass energy	In most cities of India uses Biomass Energy as their cooking fuel because of its cost efficiency. Since, biomass energy attained from living organisms waste presence of carbon storage will be high and result high smoke while burning.

The scheme therefore envisages providing the gas with the woman of the house being the direct beneficiary. Families living below poverty line, their women would be empowered by this scheme to apply and be the main subscriber of the free cooking gas supply.

The government has set aside 2000 crore in the current union budget to cater for this scheme and envisages to reach about 1.5 consumers in the scheme.

The various issues that Ujjwala Yojana would address therefore are:-

Empowering the women of the country and giving them a place of respect in the family.
Reducing air pollution that is caused by the emissions from using fossil fuel for cooking in these rural areas.
Not only is there a damaging effect on the environment from the burning of fossil fuel, it also has enormous health hazard issues to the individuals. This factor too would be addressed by usage of LPG.
India has a verified record of 5 lakh deaths occurring due usage of such unclean cocking agents. The project therefore envisages arresting this loss of human life.
While there have been fatalities from usage of unclean fuel, another direct health hazard has been experienced by children in the rural area suffering from respiratory diseases. LPG usage is expected to eradicate this problem.

Eligibility criteria for Ujjwala Yojana

The age limit for eligibility of the woman to apply for the scheme is 18 plus.
Necessary that the applicant is a woman and belongs to the BPL group.
The subsidy would be transferred to the applicant via bank transfer, and therefore the woman applicant has to have an account in any of the nationalized bank of the country.
No other household member that the woman applicant belongs to must be an existing LPG subscriber.

Application for the Ujjwala Yojana PMUY scheme and Documents Required

Form for applying for the scheme is available with all LPG distributors all over the country.
The form is available free of cost
Basic details like name, contact details, bank account details are to be filled in the application form.
There is a set of mandatory documents that are to be attached to the application. These are
- Panchayat or municipality issues BPL certificate
- The BPL Ration Card of the woman
- A Photo ID is required to be submitted which could be Aadhar Card or Voter ID Card
- Passport Size Photograph of recent date
There are two types of LPG cylinders of 15.2 kg and 5 kg which need to be specified by the applicant.
Completed application form is to be handed over to the LPG distribution service provider itself.

Selection of the beneficiaries

Given the wide applicability of the scheme, the number of applicants is naturally expected to be far greater than the possible cover pack that the government has envisaged. For this reason, the official announcement and the paper on the PMUY indicates that the selection of beneficiaries would be based on economic conditions amongst the BPL groups too. For example SC/ST group people would be the first to receive the benefit. For the rest of the group, the division of number of cylinders being provided would depend on the particular state and its existing LPG distribution density. States that have a lower LPG coverage would be given higher priority in the PMUY LPG distribution scheme.

Funding

As mentioned before the center has set aside 2000 crore rupees for this project in the current FY. The project is expected to be spread over the next three years for its implementation stage and the total expenditure would be 8000 crore by then, as per estimates. Collection or generation of funds has been worked out from the scheme where people of higher income group have voluntarily agreed to give up their subsidy. Records indicate 1.5 crore people have given up their option to avail subsidy on LPG.

Facts about PM’s Ujjwala Yojana Scheme

S.No	Facts	Explanation
1	Free LPG Connections Under Ujjwala Yojana only for Woman	According to the Prime Minister’s statement, central government will offer free LPG connection under Ujjwala Yojana Scheme for woman’s from BPL families across the nation for next 3 years.
2	LPG Connections for 5 Crore BPL families with financial aid of Rs.1600 per family	NDA Government aims to offer free LPG connections for 5 crore BPL families across the nation, in order to provide clean cooking fuel and to control air pollution
3	Scheme helps for Natural Disaster Affected People	On considering the life’s of people from recently flood affected state tamil nadu. Central government asked state government to pursue free LPG connection under Ujjawala scheme for fishermen, coolies and for farmers too under state government finance commission.
4	Subsidy Amount for Ujjwala Yojana	As of now, Ujjwala scheme operates on basis of subsidies. It is estitmated as Rs.8000 crore will be needed for providing free LPG connections for 50 million families. Funds will be managed with the people who opted to omit their own LPG subsidies through PM’s “Give It Up” Initiatives.
5	Women Empowerment	As per the central government statement, implementation of Ujjwala yojana scheme on the name of women from BPL families will empower them and also it will be beneficial in terms of health aspects.
6	Employment Opportunities	Ujjwala Yojana scheme offers employment for youths from rural areas in the supply chain sections.

Agencies for verification and other related work

Government has set up various agencies that would scrutinize the applications and award or reject the same. Respective Oil Management Company has been given the onus to verify the application and the individual’s status through their field agents. Verification process would be aided by an online data centre and digital process. So far as the cost of the stove goes, the beneficiary would be given the option of going for an EMI payment process to purchase the stove which receives positive response from the experts all across the nation.

The government also made provisions for voluntary organization or individuals to participate in the yojana if they wish to contribute towards payment of the cost of stove for the beneficiary. The government order indicates that this subsidiary scheme cannot be run under any other new name but must work under the ambit of the PMUY only. Oil Marketing Company has also been told to organize melas and events during which the distribution process of the LPG connection is to be held in public. The event must have in its audience some distinguished people of the local area. OMC themselves would have to collate their list of distributed connection and forward to the government administrative wing within 10 days of every quarter.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Ground Water in India

Introduction:

Water seeps through rocks and soil and is stored below the ground.
The rocks in which ground water is stored are called aquifers made up of gravel, sand, sandstone or limestone.
Water moves through these rocks because they have large connected spaces that make them permeable.
The area where water fills the aquifer is called the saturated zone.
The depth from the surface at which ground water is found is called the water table.
The water table can be a foot below the ground or a few hundred meters deep.
Heavy rains can cause the water table to rise and continuous extraction of ground water can cause the level to fall.

Figure illustrates the major definitions used in the context of groundwater.

The underground (hydrogeological) setting of ground water defines the potential of this resource and its vulnerability to irreversible degradation. This setting in India can be divided into following categories, which are described below:

1. Hard-rock aquifers of peninsular India:

These aquifers represent around 65% of India’s overall aquifer surface area.
Most of them are found in central peninsular India, where land is typically underlain by hard-rock formations.
These rocks give rise to a complex and extensive low-storage aquifer system, where in the water level tends to drop very rapidly once the water table falls by more than 2-6 meters.
Additionally, these aquifers have poor permeability which limits their recharge through rainfall.
This implies that water in these aquifers is non- replenishable and will eventually dry out due to continuous usage.

2. Alluvial aquifers of the Indo-Gangetic plains:

These aquifers are found in the Gangetic and Indus plains in Northern India.
They have significant storage spaces, and hence are a valuable source of fresh water supply. However, due to excessive ground water extraction and low recharge rates, these aquifers are at the risk of irreversible overexploitation.

Ground water extraction and use:

Experts believe that India is fast moving towards a crisis of ground water overuse and contamination.
Ground water overuse or overexploitation is defined as a situation in which, over a period of time, average extraction rate from aquifers is greater than the average recharge rate.
In India, the availability of surface water is greater than ground water. However, owing to the decentralised availability of groundwater, it is easily accessible and forms the largest share of India’s
agriculture and drinking water supply.
89% of ground water extracted is used in the irrigation sector, making it the highest category user in the country.
This is followed by ground water for domestic use which is 9% of the extracted groundwater. Industrial use of ground water is 2%.
50% of urban water requirements and 85% of rural domestic water requirements are also fulfilled by ground water.

Irrigation through ground water:

Wells, including dug wells, shallow tube-wells and deep tube wells provide about 61.6% of water for irrigation, followed by canals with 24.5%.
Over the years, there has been a decrease in surface water use and a continuous increase in ground water utilisation for irrigation.
The dependence of irrigation on ground water increased with the onset of the Green Revolution, which depended on intensive use of inputs such as water and fertilizers to boost farm production.
Incentives such as credit for irrigation equipment and subsidies for electricity supply have further worsened the situation.
Low power tariffs has led to excessive water usage, leading to a sharp fall in water tables.

Legislative and Policy Framework

The Easement Act, 1882

Provides every landowner with the right to collect and dispose, within his own limits, all water under the land and on the surface.
Difficult to regulate extraction of ground water.
Gives landowners significant power over ground water.
Excludes landless ground water users from its purview.

The Model Bills and National Water Policy

Address the governance of ground water under the public trust doctrine.
Public trust doctrine ensures that resources meant for public use cannot be converted into private ownership.
Government being the trustee has the responsibility to protect and preserve this natural resource for and on behalf of the beneficiaries.
Every person has the fundamental right to be provided water of acceptable quality.
Fundamental right to water has been evolved by the Supreme Court and various High Courts of the country as part of ‘Right to Life’ under Article 21 of the Constitution. Courts have delivered verdicts on concerns such as access to drinking water and on the right to safe drinking water as a fundamental right.
Prioritises needs of rural and urban households
Specifies other primary and secondary uses. Primary uses include water for agriculture, non-agriculture based livelihoods and municipal water supply and secondary use includes water for commercial activities.
Implements the principle of subsidiarity which involves giving communities the power to regulate groundwater at the aquifer level. For example, an aquifer situated entirely within a village will be under the direct control of the Gram Panchayat.
So far, 11 states and four union territories (UTs) have adopted and implemented ground water legislation.
These are: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana, Maharashtra, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
Further, the Central Ground Water Authority issued advisory to Chief Secretaries of all states and UTs to take necessary measures for adopting rainwater harvesting in all government buildings. So far, 30 states and UTs have made rain water harvesting mand

Plachimada Coca-Cola Case

The Plachimada panchayat in Palakkad district of Kerala granted a license to the Coca-Cola Company in March 2000 to use groundwater for the production of its beverages. However, in 2003, the panchayat ordered the closure of the plant as it caused lowering of the water table and deterioration of the water quality. This order was challenged by the company before the High Court of Kerala. The issue is the conflict in the right of a landowner to extract groundwater and the power of the panchayat to regulate the use of groundwater by private individuals. The High Court observed that even without groundwater regulation, the existing legal position was that groundwater is a public trust and the state has a duty to protect it against excessive exploitation. Additionally, it observed that groundwater exploitation by landowners can result in negative environmental consequences. However, on appeal, the two Judge Bench of the High Court asserted the primacy of landowner’s control over groundwater in the absence of a specific law prohibiting extraction. The case is now pending in the Supreme Court.

Institutional Framework

Central Water Commission: Initiating and coordinating schemes for the conservation and utilisation of water resources in the country in collaboration with state governments; and monitoring water quality
Central Ground Water Board: Developing and disseminating technology related to sustainable use of ground water; monitoring and implementing policies for the sustainable management of ground water resources; estimating ground water resources
Central Ground Water Authority: Constituted under Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to regulate and control development and management of ground water resources; can resort to penal actions and issue necessary regulatory directives
Central Pollution Control Board: Implementation of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 which seeks to restore water quality

Quality of ground water

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its Performance Audit of Water Pollution in India, 2011-12 observed that despite increasing pollution of ground water sources and presence of contaminants like arsenic, nitrate, fluoride, salinity, etc., no programme at the central or state level is being implemented for control of pollution and restoration of groundwater. Additionally, the Central Pollution Control Board and the CGWB do not carry out real-time monitoring of water pollution in rivers, lakes and ground water sources. The CAG has made the following recommendations with regard to the prevention and control of pollution of groundwater:
The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change needs to establish enforceable water quality standards for lakes, rivers and ground water to help protect ecosystem and human health,
Penalties need to be levied for violations of water quality standards, and
States need to take measures for source control of pollutants through sewage and agriculture runoff entering water bodies in projects for conservation and restoration of lakes

Local management of ground water

The phenomena of local water users successfully managing their water resources has been observed in only a few areas. The Planning Commission recommended that local planners take the following steps while planning for ground water management:
Determining the relationship between surface hydrological units such as watershed or river basins, and hydrological units below the ground such as aquifers,
Identification of ground water recharge areas,
Maintaining ground water balance at the level of the village or the watershed, and
Creating regulatory options at the community level such as panchayat. Examples of activities that could be regulated at the local level include drilling depth, distance between wells, cropping patterns to ensure sustainability of aquifers and participatory ground water management.

Friday, May 13, 2016

Civil Services Exam 2015, Marks of Qualified Candidates

Marks of Qualified (Recommended) Candidates in Civil Services Exam, 2016

.PDF File can be downloaded from here :

Monday, May 09, 2016

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is National Mission for Financial Inclusion to ensure access to financial services, namely, Banking/ Savings & Deposit Accounts, Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension in an affordable manner.

Account can be opened in any bank branch or Business Correspondent (Bank Mitr) outlet. PMJDY accounts are being opened with Zero balance. However, if the account-holder wishes to get cheque book, he/she will have to fulfill minimum balance criteria.

Documents required to open an account under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana

Special Benefits under PMJDY Scheme

Interest on deposit.
Accidental insurance cover of Rs.1.00 lac
No minimum balance required.
Life insurance cover of Rs.30,000/-
Easy Transfer of money across India
Beneficiaries of Government Schemes will get Direct Benefit Transfer in these accounts.
After satisfactory operation of the account for 6 months, an overdraft facility will be permitted
Access to Pension, insurance products.
Accidental Insurance Cover, RuPay Debit Card must be used at least once in 45 days.
Overdraft facility upto Rs.5000/- is available in only one account per household, preferably lady of the household.

Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA):

By default, all the zero balance account opened under are Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) are Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA). BSBDA has been defined by RBI vide its circular dated 10.08.2012. Its salient features are:

These facilities are to be provided without any extra cost.

Other Features:

PMJDY focuses on coverage of households as against the earlier plan which focused on coverage of villages. It focuses on coverage of rural as well as urban areas. Earlier plan targeted only villages above 2000 population while under PMJDY whole country is to be covered by extending banking facilities in each Sub-Service area consisting of 1000 – 1500 households such that facility is available to all within a reasonable distance, say about 5 Km.
Any individual above the age of 10 years can open BSBDA Account.
Rupay Debit Card is an indigenous domestic debit card introduced by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). This card is accepted at all ATMs (for cash withdrawal) and at most of the PoS machines (for making cashless payment for purchases) in the country.
RuPay Debit Card provides accidental insurance cover upto Rs.1.00 lac without any charge to the customer.
To get benefit of Accidental Insurance Cover, RuPay Debit Card must be used at least once in 45 days.
Overdraft facility upto Rs.5000/- will be available to one account holder of PMJDY per household after 6 months of satisfactory conduct of the account. To avoid duplication Aadhaar number will also be required. If Aadhaar number is not available then Bank will do additional due diligence and also seek declaration from the beneficiary.
Overdraft facility upto Rs.5000/- is available in only one account per household, preferably lady of the household.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vide its Press Release dated 26.08.2014 has further clarified as under: “Those persons who do not have any of the ‘officially valid documents’ can open “Small Accounts” with banks. A “Small Account” can be opened on the basis of a selfattested photograph and putting his/her signatures or thumb print in the presence of an officials of the bank. Such accounts have limitations regarding the aggregate credits (not more than Rupees one lac in a year), aggregate withdrawals (nor more than Rupees ten thousand in a month) and balance in the accounts (not more than Rupees fifty thousand at any point of time). These accounts would be valid normally for a period of twelve months. Thereafter, such accounts would be allowed to continue for a further period of twelve more months, if the account-holder provides a document showing that he/she has applied for any of the Officially Valid Document, within 12 months of opening the small account.