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  • What are Zero Coupon Bonds?

    The government has used financial innovation to recapitalize a bank by issuing the lender Rs 5,500-crore worth of non-interest bearing bonds called Zero-Coupon Bonds.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which of the following is issued by registered foreign portfolio investors to overseas investors who want to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly?

    (a) Certificate of Deposit

    (b) Commercial Paper

    (c) Promissory Note

    (d) Participatory Note

    Zero-Coupon Bonds

    • These are non-interest bearing, non-transferable special GOI securities that have a maturity of 10-15 years and are issued specifically to Punjab & Sind Bank.
    • These bonds are not tradable; the lender has kept them in the held-to-maturity (HTM) investments bucket, not requiring it to book any mark-to-market gains or losses from these bonds.
    • This will earn no interest for the subscriber; market participants term it both a ‘financial illusion’ and ‘great innovation’ by the government.

    How do they differ from bonds issued by private firms?

    • There is a difference between zero-coupon bonds issued by other corporates and these.
    • Zero-coupon bonds by private companies are normally issued at discount, but since these special bonds are not tradable these can be issued at par.

  • [pib] International Blue Flag hoisted at 8 beaches across the Country

    The Environment Minister has virtually hoisted the international blue flags in 8 beaches across the country.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. At one of the places in India, if you stand on the seashore and watch the sea, you will find that the seawater recedes from the shoreline a few kilometers and comes back to the shore, twice a day, and you can actually walk on the seafloor when the water recedes. This unique phenomenon is seen at:

    (a) Bhavnagar

    (b) Bheemunipatnam

    (c) Chandipur

    (d) Nagapattinam

    About Blue Flag Certification

    • This Certification is accorded by an international agency “Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark” based on 33 stringent criteria in four major heads i.e.
    1. Environmental Education and Information,
    2. Bathing Water Quality,
    3. Environment Management and Conservation and
    4. Safety and Services on the beaches.
    • It started in France in 1985 and has been implemented in Europe since 1987, and in areas outside Europe since 2001 when South Africa joined.
    • Japan and South Korea are the only countries in South and southeastern Asia to have Blue Flag beaches.
    • Spain tops the list with 566 such beaches; Greece and France follow with 515 and 395, respectively.

    Which are the 8 beaches?

    The beaches where the International Blue Flags were hoisted are:

    1. Kappad (Kerala)
    2. Shivrajpur (Gujarat)
    3. Ghoghla (Diu)
    4. Kasarkod and
    5. Padubidri (Karnataka)
    6. Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh)
    7. Golden (Odisha) and
    8. Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands)

  • The possibility of a two-front war

    The possibility of a two-front war has been debated for long in the Indian security establishment. However, the Galwan valley incident has added an urgency to that possibility. 

     

    Two front situation

    • In the Indian military’s thinking, while China was the more powerful, the chance of a conventional conflict breaking out was low.
    • The Chinese intrusions in Ladakh in May this year, the violence that resulted from clashes have now made the Chinese military threat more apparent and real.
    • This comes at a time when the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan has been steadily deteriorating.
    • Between 2017 and 2019, there has been a four-fold increase in ceasefire violations.
    • The larger challenge for India’s military would come if the hostilities break out along the northern border with China.
    • In such a situation, it is unlikely that Pakistan would initiate a large-scale conflict to capture significant chunks of territory as that would lead to a full-blown war between three nuclear-armed states.

    China-Pakistan relationship

    • China has always looked at Pakistan as a counter to India’s influence in South Asia.
    • There is a great deal of alignment in their strategic thinking.
    • Military cooperation is growing, with China accounting for 73% of the total arms imports of Pakistan between 2015-2019.
    • It would, therefore, be prudent for India to be ready for a two-front threat.

    The dilemma for India: In resources and strategy

    • It is neither practical nor feasible to build a level of capability that enables independent warfighting on both fronts.
    • A major decision will be the quantum of resources to be allocated for the primary front. This is the dilemma of resources.
    • If a majority of the assets of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force are sent towards the northern border, it will require the military to rethink its strategy for the western border.
    • This is the second dilemma.
    • Even though Pakistan may only be pursuing a hybrid war, should the Indian military remain entirely defensive?
    • Adopting a more offensive strategy against Pakistan could draw limited resources into a wider conflict.

    Way forward

    • We need to develop both the doctrine and the capability to deal with this contingency.
    • Capability building also requires a serious debate, particularly in view of the country’s economic situation.
    • We need to focus on future technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, cyber, electronic warfare, etc.
    • The right balance will have to be struck based on a detailed assessment of China and Pakistan’s war-fighting strategies.
    • Diplomacy has a crucial role to play.
    • India would do well to improve relations with its neighbors so as not to be caught in an unfriendly neighborhood.
    • The engagement of the key powers in West Asia, including Iran, should be further strengthened.
    • Relationship with Moscow should not be sacrificed in favor of India-United States relations given that Russia could play a key role in defusing the severity of a regional gang up against India.
    • Political outreach to Kashmir aimed at pacifying the aggrieved citizens would help in easing the pressure from the western front.

    Consider the question “India faces the possibility of a two-front war. What strategy India should follow to deal with such a challenge?” 

    Conclusion

    A politically-guided doctrine, comprehensive military capability, and exploring other options will help to deal with the China-Pakistan threat.

  • Who was freedom fighter Udham Singh?

    December 26 was the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Udham Singh, who is known for avenging the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The Ghadr (Ghadar) was a –

    (a) Revolutionary association of Indians with headquarters at San Francisco.

    (b) Nationalist organization operating from Singapore

    (c) Militant organization with headquarters at Berlin

    (d) Communist movement for India’s freedom with head-quarters at Tashkent

    Who was Udham Singh?

    • Singh, born in Sunam in Punjab’s Sangrur district in 1899, was a political activist who got associated with the Ghadar Party while in the US.
    • The multi-ethnic party was believed to have communist tendencies and was founded by Sohan Singh Bhakna in 1913.
    • Headquartered in California, the party was committed to the ouster of the British from India.
    • In 1934, Singh made his way to London with the purpose of assassinating O’Dwyer, who in 1919 had been the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab.

    Why did he consider O’Dwyer responsible for the massacre?

    • O’Dwyer ordered Brigadier Reginald Dyer to Amritsar before the massacre; he was worried that there might be a second Indian mutiny, given the Hindu-Muslim unity and the demonstrations and strikes.
    • Instead of Dyer, O’Dwyer is considered to be the actual perpetrator, since Dyer could not have executed it without his permission.
    • On March 13, 1940, Udham Singh shot O’Dwyer at a meeting of the East India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society at Caxton Hill.
    • He was immediately arrested and held in Brixton prison and was sentenced to death and was hanged on July 31, 1940, at Pentonville Prison.

    A legend in India

    • For avenging the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Singh is seen by many as a hero. Gandhi, though, had famously called Singh’s revenge as an “act of insanity”.
    • While being on trial, he referred to himself as Mohamed Singh Azad, to symbolize Hindu-Sikh-Muslim unity in the fight for India’s freedom.
    • In 1974, his remains were sent back to India and he was cremated in his village in Sunam.
    • There have been several demands in the past few years for Udham Singh’s statue to be installed in Jallianwala Bagh and the Parliament complex.
    • In 2018, his statue was installed at Jallianwala Bagh during Baisakhi.
    • Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand is named after the freedom fighter.

  • [pib] PM-JAY SEHAT

    The Prime Minister has launched Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT to extend coverage to all residents of Jammu & Kashmir.

    Q.Discuss various challenges in ensuring Universal Healthcare in India. (150W)

    PM-JAY SEHAT

    • The full form of SEHAT is social, endeavor for health, and telemedicine. Under this scheme, the SEHAT card will be distributed to all the eligible beneficiaries.
    • All the eligible beneficiaries of Jammu and Kashmir can apply for the Scheme through common service center operators
    • Around 1 crore beneficiaries will cover under this scheme. All the eligible citizens of Jammu and Kashmir will get cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under the Scheme.

  • How dangerous is Ammonia?

    Two persons died and several took ill in a major ammonia gas leakage at a fertilizers unit at Prayagraj.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. With reference to chemical fertilizers in India, consider the following statements:

    1. At present, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is market-driven and not administered by the Government.
    2. Ammonia, which is an input of urea, is produced from natural gas.
    3. Sulphur, which is a raw material for phosphoric acid fertilizer, is a by-product of all oil refineries.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1,2 and 3

    Ammonia

    • Ammonia is critical in the manufacturing of fertilizers and is one of the largest-volume synthetic chemicals produced in the world.
    • More than 80 per cent of ammonia made is consumed in the manufacturing of fertilizer, and most of the remainder goes into the production of formaldehyde.
    • A tri-hydroid of nitrogen (NH3), ammonia is a building block for ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) that is used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer.

    Why is it harmful?

    • According to experts in Chemistry, ammonia is stored for industrial use in liquid form under high pressure or in gaseous form at low temperature.
    • In such cases, the cause of death is always suffocation as in the case of Prayagraj incident, the victims must have been very close to the point of a gas leak.

    Effects on the human body

    • Ammonia, even in moderate concentration, can cause irritation to eyes, skin, nose and throat.
    • It interacts immediately upon contact with moisture present in the skin, eyes, oral cavity, and respiratory tract to form ammonium hydroxide.
    • It is very caustic and disrupts the cell membrane lipids, ultimately leading to cellular destruction.
    • As cell proteins break down, water is extracted, resulting in an inflammatory response that causes further damage.

    Secretion in humans

    • Ammonia, which is highly soluble in water, is found in soil, air, and water; it is naturally present in the body.
    • It is secreted by the kidneys to neutralize excess acid.
    • However, it is highly diluted when in the environment and does not affect the human body to a noticeable level.

  • Places in news: Rahim’s Tomb

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in The Hindu.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to Mian Tansen, which one of the following statements is not correct?

    (a) Tansen was the title given to him by Emperor Akbar.

    (b) Tansen composed Dhrupads on Hindu gods and goddesses.

    (c) Tansen composed songs on his patrons.

    (d) Tansen invented many Ragas.

    Who was Rahim?

    • Dating back to 1598, during the rule of Akbar, Abdur Rahim Khan I Khanan was one of the Navratna in the court.
    • Winning wars with his military training and hearts with his dohas and translated texts — he was a man who survived despite his father Bairam Khan’s assassination when he was just four.
    • Meant to be a dedication of a husband to his wife, the tomb ended up housing his own remains too when he died in 1627.

    His works

    • Apart from writing various dohas, Rahim translated Babar’s memoirs, Baburnama from Chagatai language to the Persian language, which was completed in 998 (1589–90) AD.
    • He had an excellent command over the Sanskrit language.
    • In Sanskrit, he wrote two books on astrology, Khetakautukam and Dwatrimshadyogavali.

    Why in news?

    • The tomb is in a run-down situation but undergoing renovation.
    • The historical and cultural significance is more than the archaeological and architectural significance, so restoring the dignity of the burial place has been very important.

  • Governance reforms in central universities

    Central Universities need reforms in their Governing Councils to make them realise their potential.

    Central Universities in the need of reforms

    • There are 55 central universities.
    • These are endowed with prime land, extensive funding from the central government and there is a long line of students waiting to get in.
    • However, they are in turmoil. In recent years, six vice-chancellors (VCs) of central universities have been sacked.
    • Some of these institutions have seen their glory days, yet increasingly, the energy is going out of the system.
    • However, not a single new private university has so far been able to create a true broad-based Vishwa Vidyalaya with the full range of humanities, social and natural sciences, and professional disciplines.
    • Therefore, to save academia in India, central universities must be saved.

    Organizational structure

    • Each of the 55 central universities is governed by a separate Act. but the broad structure is as follows.
    • The Visitor of the university is the President of India.
    • On his behalf, the Ministry of Education recommends an eminent citizen as the chancellor, whose role is mostly ceremonial.
    • The Ministry also constitutes a search committee for the post of VC, which comes up with a list of 3 candidates.
    • From this list, the government picks a VC.
    • Separately, and through a different process, the governing council (GC) is chosen.
    • The governing council (GC) of the university usually have nominees from various stakeholders, including the government, faculty, students, and citizens.
    • The university’s work is carried out by the executive council chaired by the VC, who also appoints the registrar.
    • A separate finance committee is constituted, headed by a chief finance officer, who is often a civil servant on secondment to the university.
    • This arrangement is designed to maintain financial checks and balances.

    Issues with the governance

    • The GC has no say in the selection of the VC.
    • The GC typically meets only once a year and its size is usually very large.[Delhi University has 475 members]
    • In theory, the VC presents and gets approval for the annual plan of the university from the GC.
    • In practice, after much grandstanding on both sides, the plan is rubberstamped.
    • After that, throughout the year, there is the minimal direction or monitoring from the GC, which may or may not meet again.
    • There are typically no quarterly updates, and there is little oversight.
    • Under the circumstances, the high number of failures should not come as a surprise, since effectively, there is minimal governance.

    Comparing with provisions in IIM Bill

    • The new IIM Bill very sensibly limits the GC to at most 19 members.
    • They are expected to be eminent citizens, with broad social representation and an emphasis on alumni.
    • This GC chooses the director, provides overall strategic direction, raises resources, and continuously monitors his or her performance.
    • Within the guidelines provided by the GC, the director has full autonomy but also full accountability.

    Way forward

    • The governing councils of all central universities, IITs, and all other central institutions, need to be restructured by an Act of Parliament.
    • The most eminent alumni of these institutions must be brought on their boards.
    • The dynamism and exposure that these alumni bring to the table will promptly lead to world-class innovations.

    Conclusion

    To allow central universities, the IITs and other public institutions to truly blossom, we need to reform their Governance. There is no time to waste.

  • History: Visva-Bharati University

    The Visva-Bharati University established by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore has completed its centenary.

    Do you remember the scheme of education by Gandhi Ji, called Nai Talim?

    Visva-Bharati University

    • The university was set up by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1921 at Santiniketan, Bolpur in West Bengal’s Birbhum district.
    • It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva-Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India.
    • Until independence, it was a college. Soon after independence, the institution was given the status of a central university in 1951 by an act of the Parliament.

    Its establishment

    • The origins of the institution date back to 1863 when Debendranath Tagore was given a tract of land by the zamindar of Raipur, the zamindar of Kirnahar.
    • He set up an ashram at the spot that has now come to be called chatim tala at the heart of the town.
    • The ashram was initially called Brahmacharya Ashram, which was later renamed Brahmacharya Vidyalaya.
    • It was established with a view to encouraging people from all walks of life to come to the spot and meditate.
    • In 1901 his youngest son Rabindranath Tagore established a co-educational school inside the premises of the ashram.

    What makes it special?

    • Rabindranath Tagore believed in open-air education and had reservations about any teaching done within four walls.
    • This was due to his belief that walls represent the conditioning of the mind.
    • Tagore did not have a good opinion about the Western method of education introduced by the British in India; on this subject, Tagore and Gandhiji’s opinion matched.
    • So he devised a new system of learning in Visva-Bharati. He allowed students to continue their course till the student and his teacher both are satisfied.
    • At Visva-Bharati, if a course demanded by a student is not available, then the university will design a course and bring teachers for that course.
    • The university would not be bothered by the consideration of whether there is a demand for the course.

  • What are Fastags?

    From January 1, all lanes of National Highways will accept only electronic payments through FASTag.

    Fastags work on a unique technology called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). This has gone unnoticed in several competitive exams. Hence it is still relevant for the aspirants.

    Also read

    Fastags

    • As per Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, since 1st December 2017, the FASTag had been made mandatory for all registered new four-wheelers and is being supplied by the Vehicle Manufacturer or their dealers.
    • It has been mandated that the renewal of fitness certificate will be done only after the fitment of FASTag.
    • For National Permit Vehicles, the fitment of FASTag was mandated since 1st October 2019.

    What is ‘FASTag’?

    • FASTags are stickers that are affixed to the windscreen of vehicles and use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to enable digital, contactless payment of tolls without having to stop at toll gates.
    • The tags are linked to bank accounts and other payment methods.
    • As a car crosses a toll plaza, the amount is automatically deducted, and a notification is sent to the registered mobile phone number.

    How does it work?

    • The device employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it.
    • It is affixed on the windscreen, so the vehicle can drive through plazas without stopping.
    • RFID technology is similar to that used in transport access-control systems, like Metro smart card.
    • If the tag is linked to a prepaid account like a wallet or a debit/credit card, then owners need to recharge/top up the tag.
    • If it is linked to a savings account, then money will get deducted automatically after the balance goes below a pre-defined threshold.
    • Once a vehicle crosses the toll, the owner will get an SMS alert on the deduction. In that, it is like a prepaid e-wallet.