DNA 12 JULY

SC stays cattle sale rules across nation 

• The Supreme Court stayed the Centre's May 26 notification, banning cattle sale in livestock markets for slaughter and religious sacrifices.
• The S.C.Bench said government had received a “large number of representations” that “certain aspects” of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Act, 2017 were “troubling” and threw up some “sensitive” questions about the Central rules.

‘Mysore-Madras pacts unequal'

• The 1892 and 1924 pacts between the erstwhile Mysore and Madras governments reflect an "inequality of bargaining power" and a lack of "conscience" which have no validity after the birth of the Indian Constitution, Karnataka argued in the Supreme Court.
• The submission was made before a three-judge Bench during the day-long hearing on the appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the final award on the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal's decision on water-sharing.
• Karnataka counsel and senior advocate Fali Nariman submitted that the 1892 agreement, the "parent" of the 1924 pact, dictated that Mysore could not develop any irrigational infrastructure on the river without the consent of the Madras government.
• Supreme Court had earlier refused the Centre's stand that the apex court lacked jurisdiction to hear the Cauvery river dispute.
• The Centre had argued that the parliamentary law of Inter-State Water Disputes Act of 1956, coupled with Article 262 (2) of the Constitution, excluded the Supreme Court from hearing or deciding any appeals against the Cauvery Tribunal's decision.
• The Bench, however, had held that the remedy under Article 136 was a constitutional right
• The marathon hearings were fixed after the Supreme Court had earlier refused the Centre's stand that the apex court lacked jurisdiction to hear the Cauvery river dispute
• The Centre had argued that the parliamentary law of Inter-State Water Disputes Act of 1956, coupled with Article 262 (2) of the Constitution, excluded the Supreme Court from hearing or deciding any appeals against the Cauvery Tribunal's decision.
• The bench had held that the remedy under Article 136 was a constitutional right.
•  The present year saw party states like Tamilnadu & Karnataka(Cauvery basin),Goa-Maharastra-Karnataka(Mahadayi),Odisha & Chattisgarh (Mahanadi) sparring over sharing River water.

CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR RESOLVING WATER DISPUTES:

If a state government makes request regarding any water dispute and the central government is of the opinion that the water ispute can' be settled by negotiations ,then a Water Dispute Tribunal is constituted for the adjudication of the water dispute.

ARTICLE 262

Article 262, dealing with the adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-state rivers or river valleys, says:

• Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in, any inter-state river or river valley.
• Notwithstanding anything in this constitution, parliament may by law provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint as is referred to in clause (1).

Water is a state subject as per entry 17 of the state list and thus states are empowered to enact legislation on water.

Entry 17  of the state list deals with water i.e. water supply,irrigation ,canal,drainage,embankments,water storage and water power 

Entry 56 of the Union List gives power to the Union Government for the regulation and development of interstate rivers and river valleys to the extent declared by the parliament to be expedient in Public interest .    

Minimum qualications for coop. societies’ polls

Rajasthan has become the country's first State to lay down the minimum educational qualifications for contesting elections to village cooperative societies and various other cooperative bodies.

Rules amended 

The State Cooperative Societies Rules, 2003, were amended for the purpose and notification was issued on Monday 

India to celebrate Falun Gong

• Falun Gong, the ancient Chinese holistic system that is banned in China, will be celebrated in India on July 15 with a parade and Human Word Formation in the capital.
• Organisers said the event would highlight the persecution against the practitioners in China.
• It aims to spread the message of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance which are the basic principles of Falun Dafa.
• The organisation also claimed that despite years of "brutal torture" in China, Falun Dafa practitioners are not surrendering to Beijing's strict rules.
• It claimed that the government in Beijing has been trying to "eradicate" the group as it is "extremely popular".

5 States, a UT sign pact with Centre on e-Marketplace

• In a spirit of cooperative federalism, 5 States and a Union Territory (UT) formally adopted the Centre's initiative called the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) that aims to ensure that public procurement of goods and services in India worth more than Rs. 5 lakh crore annually is carried out through the online platform for transparency and to eliminate corruption.
• The States and the UT that signed an MoU with the Centre include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Telangana, Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Four more, including Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Haryana, will ink such an MoU soon.
• Mr. Modi had talked about how the GeM can enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement.

DNA 11 July

T.N. reports first case of Zika virus

Key facts 

Cause:Zika Virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes Mosquitoes.

Symptoms:Mild Fever,skin rash,conjunctivitis,muscular & Joint pain ,headache.These symptoms last for 2-7 days.

Transmission:primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito mainly in Tropical region. 

Sexual transmission of the virus is possible.

Effects:Zika virus is a cause of Microcephaly and Guillian-Barre syndrome

History:first ientified in Uganda in 1947 in Monkeys 

Cyberattack link to glitches in RJio, NSE under probe 

India is investigating whether last week’s outage of Airtel network in Delhi, alleged data breach of users of Reliance Jio Infocomm on Sunday and the technical glitch at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday were part of a “possible cyberattack.”

CERT-In

CERT-In (the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) is a government-mandated information technology (IT) security organization. The purpose of CERT-In is to respond to computer security incidents, report on vulnerabilities and promote effective IT security practices throughout the country.

CERT-In was created by the Indian Department of Information Technology in 2004 and operates under the auspices of that department. According to the provisions of the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008, CERT-In is responsible for overseeing administration of the Act.

In the recent Information Technology Amendment Act 2008, CERT-In has been designated to serve as the national agency to perform the following functions in the area of cyber security:

• Collection, analysis and dissemination of information on cyber incidents.

• Forecast and alerts of cyber security incidents

• Emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents

• Coordination of cyber incident response activities.

• Issue guidelines, advisories, vulnerability notes and whitepapers relating to information security practices, procedures, prevention, response and reporting of cyber incidents.

• Such other functions relating to cyber security as may be prescribed. 

NGOs get more time to furnish replies to save FCRA licence

• Nearly 6,000 NGOs could lose their FCRA licences, as the Union Home Ministry has sent them show cause notices for not filing their annual returns and expenditure records for five consecutive years.
• The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) licence enables NGOs to receive foreign donations.
• In May 2017, 18,523 NGOs had been given a one-time opportunity to furnish details of their income and expenses by June 14.
• The associations have been requested to furnish their replies, if any, by July 23, failing which it will be presumed that they have nothing to say and action as proposed will be taken by the Ministry as per FCRA, it said.

Ships and planes arrive, it’s days of war games

• Amid increasing rhetoric between India and China over the border standoff, the Malabar Exercise 2017 among the naval forces of India, Japan and the United States began in Chennai.
• A senior U.S. Navy officer said the U.S. participation in the exercises indicated the country's interests in maritime security in the region, even as the Chinese government hoped that the Malabar Exercise was not targeted at any specific country.
• Senior officers of the three navies denied that the exercise was aimed at China.
• "The underlying theme of Malabar is to understand each other's standard operating procedures and each other's ways of working better, to enhance camaraderie and bonhomie."
• This was the 21st edition of such an exercise.
• The Indian Navy will feature its aircraft carrier,INS Vikramaditya, with its air wing, guided missile destroyerRanvir, and its stealth frigates and corvettes, including one Sindhughosh class submarine.
• The U.S. Navy will feature ships from the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group and other units from the U.S. 7th Fleet. The nuclear-powered warshipUSS Nimitzwill also take part.
• The Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force will be represented by JS Izumo, a helicopter carrier with SH 60K helicopters and JS Sazanami, a missile destroyer with SH 60K integral helicopter.

DNA 10 JULY

G20 hails India’s labour reforms, start-up policy

Hamburg Action Plan praises eforts to boost innovation

• Acknowledging the steps being taken by India for sustainable and inclusive growth as well as support to global economy, the G20 has praised the initiatives in the country for promoting ease of doing business, start-up funding and labour reforms
• In its Hamburg Action Plan, adopted at the G20 Summit, the group also noted that “in the financial sector, India is popularising a number of derivative instruments in exchanges or electronic trading platforms” as part of the measures to enhance resilience of its economy
• It further said India is facilitating external commercial borrowings (ECBs) by start-ups to encourage innovation and promote ease of doing business, as part of the efforts being taken by the G20 members this year for maintaining momentum on structural reforms and sustainable growth
• On steps being taken by G20 countries for promoting inclusive growth this year, the Action Plan said India is introducing labour market reforms to provide security to workers, increase female participation in the workforce and make doing business easier in the country.
• Ease of doing Business:The World Bank ranked the country at a low 130th position last year, an improvement of just one position from the previous year.The government has said it wants India to be ranked in the top-50 nations.
• The areas where India ranks poorly as per the World Bank ranking include:

1.  starting a business, 
2. dealing with construction permits, 
3. registering property, 
4. paying taxes, 
5. trading across borders, 
6. enforcing contracts 
7. and resolving insolvency

• . Global institutions like the World Bank, IMF, WTO, OECD, ILO, WHO and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) are among the partners to the G20.
• “The global economic recovery is progressing and gaining momentum. Investment has picked up, and trade and manufacturing are showing signs of recovery.
• “Weak productivity growth, income inequality and ageing populations represent challenges to growth in the longer term,” the G20 Action Plan noted.
• It included new policy actions to tackle challenges in economies, focusing on initiatives that foster inclusive growth, enhancing resilience and further the G20 efforts to implement structural reforms. 

Political storm jolts Nagaland Ministry

• Nagaland plunged into a political crisis on Sunday with former Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang staking claim to form a new government by ousting the incumbent Shurhozelie Liezietsu.
• Mr. Zeliang claimed the support of 41 of the 59 MLAs in the Assembly and wrote to Governor P.B. Acharya, seeking an invitation to form the new Naga People’s Front (NPF)-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland government at the earliest. 
•  Mr. Zeliang, who had to step down on February 22 following State-wide protests against holding of polls to urban local bodies with 33 per cent reservation for women, asserted that he had got the support of 41 MLAs after a majority of the ruling NPF legislators rebelled against Mr. Liezietsu

Easier access to H1N1 medicines raises fears of drug resistance

• Doctors feel misuse will lead to a situation of anti-viral medications turning inefective.
•  Concerns regarding a build-up of resistance to antiviral drugs used to treat swine flu are surfacing, after two such drugs - Oseltamivir and Zanamivir - were taken off the restrictive Schedule X of the Drugs and Comestics Rules. Now under Schedule H1, the drugs can be stocked by all chemists.
• Drugs under Schedule X require three copies of prescription for the doctor, patient and chemist, and can be sold by a chemist who holds a special Schedule X licence

DNA 09 JULY

PMO, NSA tracking impact of Chinese FDI in South Asia

• In the backdrop of the tense border stand-off in Sikkim with China, the Centre has begun its first ever in-depth assessment of Chinese investments in India’s neighbouring countries.
• Informal discussions have already been held with the concerned Ministries, including the Commerce and Industry Ministry — the nodal body for foreign trade and foreign investment. 

Dynamic mandate 

• Given the increasing influence of China in the Indian sub-continent and South Asia, the study will be dynamic and is, among other things, expected to look into various trends, tracking a surge, if any, in Chinese FDI in the region. 
• For instance, Pakistan government data shows that FDI from China jumped from $256.8 million in 2014-15 to $878.8 million in 2016-17 ( July-May). Pakistan’s financial year follows a July to June calendar.
• The study will also analyse the impact of these Chinese investments including those being made as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, also known as One Belt One Road or OBOR) — on India’s national security, sources said requesting anonymity.
• In addition to assessing the nature and impact of Chinese FDI in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the study will track Chinese investments in Afghanistan and Maldives too.
• However, the major challenge in the study will be the lack of detailed, countrywise data on overall FDI (year-wise) and Chinese FDI, in particular
• Chinese investments in countries like Pakistan could, in turn, set the stage for Pakistan to make inroads into markets in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal and challenge the presence of Indian firms in these markets, where India is currently the major player. 
• The CPEC/OBOR projects can also better link Pakistan with the Central Asian Republics (CAR) and help the country establish a footprint in those markets 

  Twenty-five giant radio galaxies found

A team of six scientists has discovered the presence of a large number of what are known as giant radio galaxies (GRGs) across the universe. Such galaxies are, as the name suggests, huge, and the smallest one in this batch that has been discovered could big enough to hold 33 copies of the Milky Way placed next to each other

The galaxies have a supermassive black hole, which could be even billions of times as massive as the Sun, at their centre. 

Jets of charged particles are ejected from this black hole at very high speeds, close to that of light. 

In fact, the jets reach out to a distance even larger than the giant galaxies which host them, making the galaxy prominent when imaged with a radio telescope.

Significance of the Discovery 

Since GRGs extend to Mpc [megaparsec] scales (which is almost the size of a galaxy cluster), they can be used as a probe of the medium between galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Finding them at a larger distance from us means finding them in the older universe. GRGs are very useful in understanding the growth and evolution of radio galaxies

Related: the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) located near Pune, India

S Vijay Kumar Panel calls for ‘light regulation’ of NGOs

A high-power committee appointed by the Central government on the orders of the Supreme Court has recommended several steps to ensure the “light regulation” of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) so as to reduce their harassment.

Framework of guidelines 

The committee has drawn up a framework of guidelines for :

[i]Accreditation of NGOs

[ii]Audit of their accounts, and 

[iii]procedures to initiate action for recovering grants in case of misappropriation

[iv], a nodal body to oversee the various interfaces between NGOs and the government, and has                 recommended that NITI Aayog be vested with the power

[v]A separate law for voluntary agencies engaged in activities of a charitable or “public good” 

     nature to enable more effective and efficient regulation of the sector. 

[vi] Regulation should be ‘light’ and consistent with the fundamental rights, so as to give effect to the objects for which voluntarism is being promoted

DNA 08th July

Modi targets Pakistan at G20

• Naming Pakistan-based terror groups LeT and JeM, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said some countries were using terror as a tool to achieve political objectives and pressed for “deterrent” action collectively by the G20 members against them
•  Mr. Modi regretted that the international response to terrorism was weak and said more cooperation was needed to fight the menace.
• The Prime Minister presented an 11-point ‘Action Agenda’ which included suggestions for expediting extradition and concrete steps to choke funds and weapon supply
• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other mechanisms to choke sources of funds to terrorists should be strengthened, he said.
• In the pattern of FATF, an Explosives Action Task Force (EATF) should be constituted "so that the sources of deadly arms reaching the terrorists can be ended," he added.

Aadhaar not ‘totalitarian': Centre

• Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal objected to arguments made by petitioners that Aadhaar was driving India into a "concentration camp" even as the Supreme Court said the constitutionality of the scheme has to be decided "once and for all" and probably by a nine-judge Bench.
• Sparks flew at the hearing before a three-judge Bench, led by Justice J. Chelameswar, after senior advocate Shyam Divan, for the petitioners, said Aadhaar was reminiscent of1984, a work by George Orwell about the totalitarian state where everybody and everything is watched by the ‘Big Brother state.'

A hardy millet yields its genetic code

• In a first, Karnataka’s agricultural scientists have sequenced the genetic code of ragi, or finger millet, throwing light on the exact building blocks that make it drought-resistant and nutrition-rich.
• Scientists from the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bengaluru (UAS-B) achieved the sequencing of the plant, which, the scientists say, was first domesticated from a wild species in Western Uganda and the Ethiopian highlands before being introduced to India around 3,000 BC.
• Ragi occupies 12% of global millet cultivation area and Karnataka leads in its cultivation
• With a low glycemic index, ragi is no longer the poor man’s staple, and is preferred by diabetics.
• Genome sequencing identifies the order of DNA nucleotides in a genome.
• Potential gains to drought tolerance of rice and wheat through transfer of droughttolerant genes found in ragi are possible. 
• Karnataka Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the scientific advance would help dry land farmers. Consumers would get a nutrient-rich food through research involving a nontransgenic process.

 Glycemic Index - is a number associated with a particular type of food that indicates the food's effect on a person's blood glucose (also called blood sugar) level. A value of 100 represents the standard, an equivalent amount of pure glucose.

SC stays HC verdict on Ganga status

The Supreme Court froze the status of "legal persons" accorded to rivers Ganga and Yamuna by the Uttarakhand High Court in March 2017.

 A Bench of Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and D.Y. Chandrachud stayed the High Court verdict which held that the rights of the two major rivers “shall be equivalent to the rights of human beings and the injury/harm caused to these bodies shall be treated as harm/injury caused to the human beings.”

 The High Court had ordered the Director, Namami Gange project, for cleaning and rejuvenating the river, the Chief Secretary and the Advocate General of Uttarakhand to act as "legal parents" of the holy rivers and work as a human face to protect, conserve and preserve them and their tributaries.

These officers, the High Court had directed, would be bound to "uphold the status" of the two rivers and also promote their "health and well-being.

U.S. warplanes fly over disputed South China Sea

• U.S. warplanes have flown over the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. Air Force said, a move aimed at asserting freedom of navigation rights in the hotly-contested area.
• Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by Taiwan and Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. 
• China has rapidly built reefs in the area into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes. China also lays claim to tiny islands in the East China Sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula, and between Japan and Taiwan

DNA 07 July

No Modi-Xi meeting at G-20 as ‘atmosphere is not right’

With India and China asserting on Thursday that no bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping had been scheduled on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting in Germany, there was no immediate prospect of an end to the boundary standoff

 Also China stepped up its verbal assault on India, warning it of ‘serious consequences’ if it did not withdraw its troops

“The Prime Minister is visiting Hamburg from July 6-8 for the G-20 summit

 His pre-planned bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit are with Argentina, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, the U.K. and Vietnam,”

 Mr. Modi would participate in the BRICS leaders’ meeting which will be held a day before the main summit.

Why not use VVPAT units for Gujarat polls, EC asked  

• The Supreme Court questioned the Election Commission on its reluctance to use voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) units with electronic voting machines for the Gujarat Assembly polls in 2017, warning the poll panel against making excuses and compelling the court to force its hand.
• "You have about 87,000 machines. Why cannot you use them," a Bench of Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and D.Y. Chandrachud asked the commission.
• When counsel of the panel replied that not all the 87,000 are functional and some have "glitches", Justice Khehar said the argument sounded like an excuse.
• "Don't force us ... we can enforce our orders," the Chief Justice warned, asking the commission to give a reply in four weeks.
• The hearing was based on a petition filed by Mohit Singh, represented by counsel Kapil Sibal, appealing against a Gujarat High Court order dismissing his plea to direct the commission to implement the VVPAT voting mechanism in the Gujarat polls or otherwise use ballot papers to ensure a transparent, free and fair election.
• "The Centre has given the Election Commission Rs. 3,000 crore to buy 1,50,000 machines ... but now they are saying it will take time to train people. Such excuses cannot be made in a democracy. In Gujarat polls, 71,000 machines are required for the election," Mr. Sibal said.
• He referred to the Supreme Court's 2013 judgment inSubramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India, in which the court held that the "paper trail is an indispensable requirement of free and fair elections. The confidence of the voters in the EVMs can be achieved only with the introduction of the "paper trail". EVMs with VVPAT system ensure the accuracy of the voting system."

Constitutional status for backward classes panel? 

The politically-volatile issue of reservation for Gujjars in Rajasthan in the Special Backward Class (SBC) category has become complicated with the Centre likely to give constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).

The Bill on the subject may be passed in the monsoon session of Parliament. 

Constitutional status to the NCBC will take away powers from States to add or remove communities to the backward class category for the purpose of reservation

The State governments will then only be left with the power to make a recommendation in this regard.

National Commission for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (NSEBC)

• It will replace National Commission for Backward Class.
• In this regard, constitutional amendment bill for amending Constitution mainly by insertion of Article 338B will be soon introduced in the Parliament.

 What has been approved?

• Creation of a National Commission for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (NSEBC) under new Article 338 B.
• Composition of the new NSEBC will include Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and three other Members.
• Insertion of provision after Article 341 and 342 by inserting Article 342 A to provide for Parliament’s approval for every inclusion into and exclusion from the Central List of Other Backward Class (OBCs).
• Insertion of a new Clause (26C) under Article 366 of the Constitution to define Socially and Educationally Backward Classes;
• Repealing of National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 and Rules framed under it.
• Dissolution of the Commission constituted under the Act of 1993

Tax forces Indian families to exit Saudi( Nitaqat programme )

• An astronomical hike in the ‘expatriate dependent fee,’ or family tax, in Saudi Arabia is forcing thousands of Indians working in the kingdom to send their families back home
• Effective from July 1, the Saudi government, which is on an aggressive drive to localise its labour force and shed the weight of expatriate workers, imposed a new fee on all members of the expatriate families
• Accordingly, for each member of the family, an expatriate worker has to pay 1,200 Saudi riyals (roughly ₹21,000) a year. The tax was just 100 riyals a year for a family
• The tax will hit a sizeable section of Indians, who make up the largest expatriate community in the kingdom. 
•  An estimated 30 lakh Indians live in Saudi Arabia, which employs the largest number of Indians anywhere in the world (the UAE is a close second). Keralites are the largest segment of the Indian community in the kingdom

Centre doing ‘all it can’ to help farmers 

 Government submitted that 5.34 crore farmers, or 40%, had already been covered by the welfare schemes and work was on to enhance the figure to 50% by 2018-19. Thirty per cent of the crops too were secured. 

Government said crop insurance schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojan had been instituted from the Kharif season of 2016, and was a “huge improvement over the previous schemes [National Agriculture Insurance scheme]”

All farmers who avail themselves of crop loans were automatically covered under this scheme and the premium amount was deducted from their loan amounts. 

Insurance cover was provided for all stages of the crop cycle. 

The Attorney General detailed other programmes like National Food Security Mission, National Mission for Oilseed and Oil Palm, Mission of Integrated Development for Horticulture, National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology

Steps taken by the Government to improve farmer's plight :

[i] efforts were on to bring more farmers into the institutional fold by ensuring availability of crop            loans through commercial, cooperative and regional rural banks.

[ii]“The target for agricultural credit is ₹10 lakh crore in 2017-18. The government plans to double            farmers’ income by 2022

[iii]ATM-enabled Kisan Credit cards had been introduced to enable farmers to purchase raw materials       and draw cash.

[iv]RBI had allowed banks to take a lenient view on rescheduling of loans if the crop loss was more         than 33%. 

[v]The government ultimately intended to “create a single unified market for the country"[e-              NAM Markets].

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up a threeday visit to Israel

• CEOs of various companies who reportedly signed agreements worth about $4.3 billion
• A document of “joint intentions” issued by the forum, organised by FICCI, said that it hoped to take current bilateral trade of about $4-5 billion to $20 billion in five years “if untapped potential is fully harnessed.”
• The document listed the biggest problems as restrictive “laws for investors” in India, and Indian business visas, which are only granted for one year presently. 

Desalinisation unit 

Mr. Netanyahu also took Mr. Modi to the Olga beach in Haifa, where the two leaders drove a portable desalinisation unit that hopes to market in India soon.

DNA 6th July

Selection of ECs must be transparent: SC

• Apex court advocates enactment of legislation to ill gap in Constitution
• Though so far the election commissioners (ECs) appointed have been “outstanding people, very fair and politically neutral,” there is still a legitimate expectation that they should be selected through the “most transparent and just process” formalised in a law enacted by Parliament, the Supreme Court advised the Centre on Wednesday
• The Bench  pointed out that there is a “gap” caused by the lack of a parliamentary law which transparently spells out the process of appointment of an election commissioner.

“Who should be shortlisted? 

  Who shortlists these names? 

  What is the eligibility? 

• There is nothing to show the procedure followed in selecting them,” 
• He said that even the selection procedure of the CBI Director is formalised by a written law, but not that of Election Commissioners

• Past Demands for giving the Parliamnet more say in EC Selection :

            1.In the Constituent Assembly debates,Prof. Shibba Lal Saksena demanded that EC's should                  be appointed by two-third majority in both the Houses of the Parliament 

            2.Due to this demand,the CA inserted Article 324(2),which says that EC's appointment be                      "subject to the provisions of law made by the Parliament"

            3.In 1974,Tarkunde Panel suggested that Ec's appointment shall be made by the President on                the advice of the panel consisting of :

                          The prime minister

                          The leader of opposition in Lok sabha 

                          The CJI of India

India, Israel to set up $40 mn research fund

• India and Israel announced :

          [i]a strategic partnership after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli              counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu

          [ii]signed seven agreements in the fields of water, agriculture, and space

         [iii]a $40 million joint fund for research and development in innovation

• Commonalities between two countries:

          [i]“India and Israel live in complex geographies.

         [ii]We are aware of the strategic threats to regional peace and stability

        [iii] Both Government agreed to do much more together to protect our strategic interests and                      also cooperate to combat the growing radicalisation and terrorism, including in                                    cyberspace.” 

• While none of the agreements signed on Wednesday were on security issues, officials said they had been prominent in the talks, 
• and officials had discussed the possibility of “joint development of defence products, including the transfer of technology from Israel.”
• The fund of research and development, called the "I4F" or India Israel Industrial Innovation Fund, will see both governments contribute $20 million to help research scholars manufacture their inventions easily.
• Mr. Modi also coined the term "I4I" or "India for Israel", as a response to Mr. Netanyahu's formula of "Indian talent and Israeli technology equals India-Israel ties for tomorrow."
• On Terrorism:Without mentioning the specifics of the counter-terrorism cooperation envisaged, they agreed that “strong measures should be taken against terrorists, terror organisations, their networks and all those who encourage, support and finance terrorism, or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups.”
• also to  ensure that terrorist organisations do not get access to any WMD [weapon of mass destruction] or technologies.  The indirect references to Pakistan and Iran, both of which are nuclear-capable powers, reflected the concerns India and Israel have on the issue of terror
• On Palestine:In view of Israel’s position on not welcoming “third party” interventions on the Israel-Palestine peace process, the joint statement only recorded “their support for an early negotiated solution between the sides based on mutual recognition and security arrangements,” without any reference to a “two-state solution” that India supports.

Of plant species few and far between

• Scientists have recorded a major section of Rare Endemic and Threatened plants and trees in the Western Ghats, some of which have not been assessed by international conservation bodies for nearly two decades
• The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) project on endemic tree resources in the southern Western Ghats, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu, has now documented about 250 ‘RET’ species. 
• The assessment of some of these conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature for the IUCN Red List puts them under vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered categories based on literature from 1998

Tribal input 

• A lot of the existing knowledge on these plants comes from tribal communities. By contrast, the common man is unaware or has not even heard of many RET plants.  

Western Ghats has been recognised as one of the 34 Ecosystems hotspots in the world in term of Biodiversity.

Re-examine collegium system: SC judge

• The embarrassment caused by Justice C.S. Karnan, who is serving six months' imprisonment for scandalising the Indian judiciary with his antics while serving as a High Court judge, has triggered a strong pitch within the Supreme Court itself to reconsider the efficacy of the age-old and recently revived collegium system of judicial appointments.
• A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday published a detailed and unanimous judgment explaining their reasons for taking the “unpleasant” and unprecedented step of sending the controversial High Court judge to jail for six months on May 9, 2017.
• Classic Example
• In a separate judgment, Justice J. Chelameswar, the sole judge who had dissented on quashing of the National Judicial Appointments Commission laws proposed by the Union Government
•  Justice Chelameswar has historically refused to participate in the hush-hush meetings of the Supreme Court collegium and spoke up for transparency and recording of the minutes of the collegium meetingss, is joined in the separate judgment by another collegium member, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who is in line to be the Chief Justice of India.
• Justice Chelameswar said the case of Justice Karnan,  highlighted the need to revisit the process of selection and appointment of judges to the constitutional courts, for that matter any member of the judiciary at all levels . 
• Noting that Justice Karnan was appointed judge in the Madras High Court on March 30, 2009, Justice Chelameswar wrote how “the conduct of the contemnor [Justice Karnan] ever since his elevation to the Bench has been controversial”. 
• The judgment said that impeachment alone is not the answer to correct deviant behaviour of judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts.

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• But given the close ties between Nepal and India, her visit will certainly deal with bilateral issues.

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